Krait Book 01 Slytherin's Heiress
by slytherinsal
Summary: Harry's fourth year;Snape is sent to find a new pupil whose powers have been blocked and who's coming late. A pupil who is truculent and swotty with unusual parentage and a predilection for explosions. AU, T later chapters; violence mentioned; implied sex
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note;** _disclaimer: JKR owns the characters. I've borrowed some of them and hope to keep them undamaged. _

_The orphanage is based on a school a relative attended; I'm sure there are some very nice nuns out there too. _

_This opens just after the start of term in Harry and co's fourth year before the first task of the Triwizard. I use some events and some dialogue from canon; but events start to pan out differently. This is the first piece of writing I have done in the Potterverse, some years ago, and it's a bit rough in places. I started this after reading OP. Rated M for the implicit violence in the orphanage._

_I'm a Brit and I stick to English spellings. Please hono__**u**__r my right if you want to critici__**s**__e _

**Chapter 1: The Ivory Snake**

The knock was repeated, impatiently.

"If you do not open this door immediately, girl, I shall open it with force!" the harsh voice without commanded. The handle shook, but the chair back was wedged too well beneath it to budge easily, even though there was no lock to the door.

The slim figure seated on the bed gave a rather wry smile of grim satisfaction; but said nothing.

She was not a little shocked when the door exploded inward with a bang; though noise she had been expecting. Her visitor too recoiled slightly as the pyrotechnics of an improvised booby trap of home-made fireworks exploded noisily and with a profusion of stars as the makeshift lock failed; but he was quickly under control. He regarded her sardonically with one eyebrow raised.

She was tiny, slight and skinny to the point of near emaciation; and her pale skin and almost silvery blonde hair gave her a look of incredible fragility. Her violet eyes seemed too large in her solemn and rather peaked face but held an animation and intelligence that belied any initial impression that she was in any way fragile enough for passivity.

"I grant you cool points for not squawking" she said, grudgingly.

The man sniffed.

"I suppose your own reaction was not excessive" he said. His tone was equally grudging. They sized each other up.

He was a tall man, also slender to the point of skinniness; his nose was long and hooked and perfectly shaped for looking down, which was what he was doing, regarding her with cold black eyes. He was sallow, and his hair hung in black curtains at the side of his face, merging into his dead black garb. His clothing seemed strange, not the usual suit nor yet the studiously casual of those who were convinced that they understood youngsters. Instead he wore what could only be described as robes, something akin to the academic robes affected by some clerics and dons such as the girl had seen on the television, but somehow….different.

The girl's hair was also a curtain, a veil; though hers was longer. She pushed it back, scorning to hide, and looked down her own retrousse nose. It did not have the same effect; but something within the man appreciated the gesture, for his eyebrow twitched almost appreciatively.

"You don't look like a priest – or a social worker" she said, dryly.

He snorted.

"Just as well, for I am neither. My name is Snape, Professor Severus Snape of Hogwarts school. I am come to see whether you have talent enough to teach: or if I must erase your memory of using talent."

Her brows drew together.

"I will be no easy target to hypnotise" she said grimly. "I would resist any such effort – whatever you may mean by talent. I suppose you are from some kind of Borstal. Well it can't be worse."

He shrugged.

"I don't know the word. I am a wizard. Hogwarts is a school for wizards and witches."

"Yeah? Prove it."

He frowned.

"How do you think the door opened so readily?" he said scornfully.

She shrugged.

"A good kick… explosives on the hinges…it doesn't PROVE anything. Why should I believe? For all I know you're some kind of pervert trying to kidnap me. Mother Superior isn't with you" she added shrewdly.

Snape was keeping his temper with difficulty.

"Very well then!" he snapped.

There was a brief tingling in the girl's body; and where she had sat was a large, black snake. Another tingle; and she was restored.

Expecting terror in her eyes, Snape was astounded to see that they glowed with excitement, a smile of pleasure on her face. The pale child was glowing with excitement – and an ethereal beauty such as he had never seen!

"Do it again please!" she begged.

He frowned.

"It is not proper…."

"Please! I – I did not get a chance to be fully acquainted with the new senses!" her violet eyes were compelling.

"You were aware of being a snake, using the senses?" he asked sharply.

"Obviously!" she returned equally sharply. "What would be the point of a demonstration I was not aware of?"

He snorted.

"Most people retain the memory only…very well, but you cannot spend long in the form. One begins to become too…animal like if exposure is prolonged." He lifted his wand and released the spell…felt it taken over, twisted.

Instead of a large black snake, before him was an ivory snake with lavender eyes, and cruel scars down the scales of its back.

The snake elevated the front four feet of her body and tasted the air in front of his face with her tongue. He stood motionless, fearless.

"Enough!" he said after a few minutes, preparing to reverse the spell.

Before he had a chance, the big ivory snake shimmered and changed; and the girl knelt before him. Snape stared.

"How..?"

She blinked.

"Well you had shown me how….I believe you now. I will go wherever you want me to. Nobody has ever given me such a gift before!" she sighed contentedly. "Do you think I have enough talent?"

Snape debated telling her it had not been intended as a gift; and chose to grunt instead.

"Talent?" he said dryly. "You have enough and to spare. Nobody has ever twisted one of my own spells from me before."

She looked concerned.

"Was it very rude? I'm sorry. I hate to be UNINTENTIONALLY rude" she said. "I – I wanted to see how to do it for myself, and I thought the easiest way was to ride along and – and change some things."

"I forgive the rudeness. It was….transfiguration should not be approached lightly, yet you make light of it!"

"I like snakes" she said simply. "There are snakes in a tank at school. I like to chat to them, they're nicer than most people."

He stared again.

"And do they reply?"

"Of course! Is that a wizard thing? To understand animals? 'cos I never got enthusiastic about guinea pigs or mice nor ever felt a desire to talk to them."

Snape took a deep breath.

"Speaking to snakes is a…rare ….skill. those who can do it are called Parselmouths. The language of snakes is Parseltongue."

"Oh!" she said. "Do you speak it? I guess you like snakes or you wouldn't have picked the form."

"I am not a Parselmouth" he replied harshly. "The symbol of the House of which I am Head – we have four Houses at Hogwarts – is a snake. House Slytherin was founded by Salazar Slytherin – and he WAS a parselmouth."

She brightened.

"So am I likely to be in your House? Or – or if you're my Guardian, will I be put elsewhere?"

"The sorting hat will choose where you are put" he replied "And your own wishes will be of importance within that choice. I – well I suppose I must be your guardian, at least for the time being."

"Am I supposed to call you Uncle Severus?" she asked.

"NO!" he exclaimed revolted.

She chuckled.

"Don't tell me – you like to be on first name terms and your first name is 'Professor'?"

"Yes" he said.

She frowned.

"Have you many wards?" she asked.

"None!" he replied quickly.

"I get you all to myself? My own special somebody?" her eyes glowed again. "I never had anybody special, 'cos you can't count a letter from a mother who knew she was going to die of you, can you?"

He made a non-committal sound. She was not responding as she was supposed to!

"So I shall think of something to call you…I know, you're going to teach me things, so I shall call you Domine!"

He snorted.

"If you must. But I must be harsher on you than on the others if you are my ward. And I am not in general noted for my….tolerance….in class in any case. Is that clear?"

She nodded.

"Pellucidly" she picked the word deliberately, and grinned at him, then added, " it is fully understood. Discipline; and not wanting to be accused of favouritism. Besides, I scarcely want to be bullied for being teacher's pet."

"Quite." He said.

She grinned.

"At least you don't hide the fact that bullying does exist by pretending that it never happens in your school like lots of teachers do."

"I loathe bullies" he said vehemently.

"Doesn't anyone who's more intelligent than the general herd and likely then to get picked on?" she said cynically.

"Those scars on your snake form – how did they get there?" he asked suddenly.

She taughtened; then turned and pulled up her white blouse, revealing her back. Scars old and new criss-crossed it.

"I don't conform very easily; I question" she said. "I speak out if I think someone's been punished unjustly. I refuse to kneel and beg forgiveness for sins I don't think sinful." The most recent scars, angry and red at the edges, opened up and started bleeding again as the shirt pulled away from them.

Snape was revolted. His wand was out again in a trice and he tapped her back, muttering a spell to himself. Those recent welts at least closed up before him and the redness faded.

The girl's eyes widened.

"You can take away pain with magic too? You are wonderful!" she whispered, and flung her arms about his neck to kiss him warmly on the cheek. Snape stiffened and half recoiled, taken aback.

"Foolishness" he said. "You have no need to be so demonstrative."

"Why not? You healed me…and if I cannot be demonstrative to my own guardian, to whom can I show affection?" she enquired. "Am I not allowed to be pleased and grateful? 'cos I shall be anyway whether it's allowed or not."

He snorted.

"I only did what any reasonable man who was so able would do. I am a harsh disciplinarian, but that…That is sick" he said.

"They are" she said, indifferently, pulling her shirt back down. "They enjoy it – some of them, anyway. I could conform, at least outwardly. I choose not to. It's only pain. I'd rather have them scar my back than scar my will and spirit."

"We're leaving this loathsome place" he said, grimly.

"How are you going to square it with The Penguin – Mother Superior that is?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"A little….mental persuasion" he said.

"The force has a great effect on the weak minded" she murmured.

"What?"

"Film reference….it's how I've learned something about life outside the orphanage – by sneaking out to watch films or visit the library. Can you really make her give me up so I don't ever have to come back?"

"Yes."

She unwound herself and stood up, revealing just how tiny she really was: she came no higher than Snape's breastbone. She pulled open the small cupboard beside the bed and slipped an arm through his to give it a brief squeeze as she started to throw her meagre possessions into an old bag.

"Then I'd better call you Uncle Severus in front of her…to add verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative."

He grunted.

"Gilbert and Sullivan I have encountered" he said. "I concede a brief necessity. The less a mind has to be altered the easier the task is. What do you know about your parents? It might help to convince her I am a relative."

She shrugged.

"My mother was just my age – fifteen – when I was born, and she'd had some kind of presentiment that she would die, I guess. She wrote a letter telling me that she'd been reared by an aunt and uncle and had run away from home when she found out she was pregnant. My father was a creep, to seduce a kid then dump on her, for she said he was quite grown up, and very charming and plausible. I" she added "Never trust charming and plausible men. It's why I think I like you."

Snape was torn between outrage and amusement; but the grin she gave him was so infectious he felt the corner of his mouth twitch, amusement winning.

"Why, thank you" he said with heavy irony.

"Y'welcome" she twinkled at him. Had he thought her face solemn? It was alive with mischief! She went on, "My father's name was Thomas Riddell, she wrote."

Snape froze.

"Thomas? Or Tom? Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

She blinked.

"She wrote 'Tom' in the letter….the nuns put 'Thomas' on my birth certificate, assuming a shortening. His middle initial was 'M', I assumed for Mark or Matthew or something…do you know him?" she asked in consternation. "Does this mean I can't have you as a guardian if I've a living relative?"

"Oh yes" his voice was dangerously soft. "I know him. It explains the Parseltongue – and your power. Tom Riddle, otherwise self styled as" he looked around and dropped his voice "Lord Voldemort, - whom we do NOT name normally - is or was the most feared Black Wizard ever. He desires domination and power over all the Wizarding world and over muggles – non wizards – too."

She made a disgusted noise.

"LORD? How pretentious! Even – contumelious!" she declared. Snape raised an appreciative eyebrow at her vocabulary. "Not named? Names being power? Yet you say 'or was' which implies he's dead and yet you fear to name him."

He nodded. She reasoned well enough, listened to words and tones, picked up inferences quickly.

"Most people – even though he is assumed dead – refer to him as 'You-know-who'."

She snorted.

"As childish as Lord Thingey. I shall henceforth refer to him as 'Fishface'. That's got no mystique to it!"

Snape stared; then he laughed a harsh, unaccustomed laugh.

"I approve" he said "But GIRL! He is very, very dangerous. To fear him is not childish, but prudent. He knows spells that can wrack you with pain until it takes away your mind; or kill you outright. And he can charm your soul from you."

"And that's more fearsome to you than pain or death, too, isn't it?" she asked shrewdly. "To be enslaved. The same as me taking punishment not repentance. Talking of names, and power, can I change mine if I'm to have a new life?"

He blinked.

"What were you planning on changing it to? Augusta is your name is it not – it seems perfectly serviceable."

She made an indelicate noise.

"You've not thought little boys and their horrid minds through on that" she said. "They call me 'Gusset' and they mean of knickers, not as a general tailoring term. I want to be Krait. It's the smallest snake of all and one of the most deadly – and it strikes from cover and without warning."

He nodded.

"I am familiar with the snake. Very well. It seems appropriate. Now! We leave. You can ask further questions later. I am sufficiently acquainted with Riddle's family to make being a connection inappropriate; but that you are his daughter certainly gives me food for thought."

Snape's handling of the Mother Superior was masterly, flattering her with spurious admiration for her concern for poor motherless children and assuring her that her ex charge would be receiving excellent but strict schooling. He had already provided himself with – doubtless forged – muggle papers declaring that the child Augusta Day Riddell was to be handed into his custody, and he filled in the details with Krait's help with a wave of his wand. She had been impressed and said so.

"A simple trick" he had murmured and told himself firmly not to be pleased at the admiration of an untutored child.

Certainly the details were sufficiently convincing to Mother Superior who was all smiles and ingratiation to Snape, admonishing Krait to behave in her new home and to remember to say her prayers.

"Of course, Mother Superior" murmured Krait, determining to pray that something awful happened to all the nuns.

Snape sighed in audible relief on leaving the place.

"And now" he said "We shall go and purchase such things as you will require for your schooling."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Diagon Alley.**

Krait, having once got over the concept of entering a 'den of iniquity' – the Leaky Cauldron Inn – was ecstatic over being taken into Diagon Alley; Snape was stony faced, having learned more about the orphanage from her determination not to give in to claustrophobia on the tube and her matter-of-fact explanation about the tiny airless cupboard often used for punishment. She had explained that she had learned to make fire from her fingers first for light in that cruel dungeon; and had used fire to burn the boy who was trying to force sexual favours from her at the secondary modern school she had attended, the reason for her being confined to her bedroom by the nuns and having been beaten because she would not tell them where she had hidden the lighter or matches she must have had, then for telling lies about just willing him to burn. . He had learned too that she was expected to care for half a dozen mixed infants and could get punished if any were late for meals, or untidy.

"It's Jade and Lydia I worry most about" she said. "Oh dear, perhaps I ought not to leave them – Jadie looks after Lydia, and it so gets her into trouble, and though I've taught her to make a light in the dark she's so young….and they saw their father murder their mother, you know, so they've got bad memories, which has to be worse than no memories of parents, hasn't it?"

"You taught her? then she will be eligible for Hogwarts if she can learn spells" Snape said. "I will look into it. But your responsibility for the time being is to learn as much as you can to catch up. Not to care for other children"

"But if it's a secondary school and I was doing spells why didn't I go when I was eleven? Why did it take me burning that boy because I was scared? What if Jade and Lydia get forgotten about?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know…your name should have been inscribed in the book of magically active. I will see if these children are there. If not they can be watched for their talent to see if they are eligible."

"Did the er, NUNness block it?" she asked.

He shot her a look.

"A contrary ritual acting as a block? A feasible hypothesis."

"One at least to work on – and if Jade at least isn't on the list that's half way to proving a lemma, isn't it?"

He considered that.

"At least it is highly suggestive. I will see what can be done about these children; and about that place. Now try to be silent for at least five minutes if you please!"

Krait had no trouble being silent on entering Diagon Alley; she was busy drinking in the atmosphere. She tucked her tiny hand into his, making him start.

"I guess I've just taken a step into a larger world" she said wryly. "How am I supposed to pay for either kit or tuition fees? This isn't State Controlled education, is it now?"

"Hogwarts provides discretionary scholarships and funds for orphaned pupils such as yourself" Snape informed her. "The Headmaster – Professor Dumbledore – trusts me to assess you and decide if your need was for schooling or not. Why are you clinging to me?"

"How lucky; I'm glad you decided in my favour; and I'm a trifle nervous" she said, laughing. "It is a little childish, isn't it? Only when you're institutionalised, dealing with things out of the ordinary is kind of, well, out of the ordinary. And you ARE my only real family, you know." She withdrew her hand apologetically; and he grunted morosely.

By the time the first purchase had been made, the essential cauldron – second hand, for Krait pointed out there was no point being profligate with the school's generosity – she had discovered that Professor Snape taught Potions.

"It works then? Eye of newt and – and leg of frog or whatever?" she asked.

A spasm of distaste crossed his face.

"Not usually in the same potion" he said.

"But it works? Reproducibly? All with nice scientific precision and measuring and exact same quantities and proportions, not just hurling in weird bits and pieces?"

He eyed her balefully.

"If, in my class, you ever, er, _hurled in_ anything – especially weird or other random bits and pieces – you would find yourself in trouble. It is a most precise art requiring concentration and care – something few young people seem capable of." He said repressively.

"Good, I ought to be quite good at it then" she said cheerfully unabashed "For I'm good at chemistry and at cooking too for that matter, and I like precise."

"We shall see." He said; not displeased.

There were other potioneering paraphernalia to get – scales, pestle and mortar, silver knife, gloves and for all subjects parchment and quills. Krait felt secretly that a biro and a Woolworths notebook might be more useful, but she did not want to hurt her mentor's feelings by suggesting it.

"What about experimenting?" she asked as they headed for the bookshop.

"NOT without experience; you can kill yourself with some potions" he said "Though in the case of some of my students it would be small enough loss."

Krait chuckled.

"Mmm, best not to dwell on that!" she said. "But if I cleared an experiment with you?"

He shot her a look.

"Why?"

"I like to find out. And sometimes things are done a particular way because it's traditional, I guess your world must be the same about that as the one I'm used to. And maybe there's better ways."

"Keep extensive and perfect notes covering everything. Write down what you intend to do before you do it."

"Obviously. Do I look stupid?" she asked, indignantly.

His mouth twitched again.

"Yes. You're under seventeen." He said.

"Cynic" she said, cheerfully.

They spent an unnecessarily long time in the pokey little secondhand bookshop; as well as books covering several years that Krait had to catch up on, Professor Snape found an ancient tome that he hesitated over thoughtfully before deciding to purchase it: and Krait wandered around exclaiming happily from time to time.

"Will I live with you in the holidays?" she asked.

He stared.

"I hadn't thought about it….probably not, you'll probably stay in the school. Why? Surely you didn't want to stay with me?" his tone was incredulous. She nodded emphatically.

"Oh yes! You love books too, I bet you've got floor to ceiling bookcases at home. But.. I suppose you don't want to be badgered by questions out of term time."

"THAT depends if they're sensible questions or not."

"I don't know yet. I don't know enough about magic to know if my questions are sensible or no. I want to learn everything – no-one ever stops learning, of course, and no-one ever can learn everything, but you know what I mean, don't you?"

He gave her an unfathomable look.

"As it happens I believe I do." He said. "At least you have the wit not to think you know it all and that you can know it all."

"So who does?" she asked. "You've someone in mind, haven't you?"

He sniffed.

"Ah yes, the great Harry Potter" he said scornfully and with a sneer. "The boy who lived. The only boy to survive the killing curse with only a spectacular scar to show for it; and whose fame is in that survival. The boy who overcame er, Fishface when he was a baby and defeated his designs by sheer luck and the cleverness of his friends. Mr Prophesy himself."

"You don't like him then?" she asked with a spuriously limpid look.

Snape stared; then he laughed, a harsh, grating laugh. It drew concerned looks from passers by.

"No, I don't like him" he said. "But he is the Prophesy; and he is supposed to defeat your father. How, I seriously wonder" he added "For he's not that clever and hardly a model student. He's a year younger than you, and I shall recommend that you drop back a year to his year anyway to give you more chance to catch up."

Krait frowned.

"Then I'd do well to try to get on with him." She said. "I want my father dead. He's even more a creep than I've always thought him; and if this Potter character has resistance to his powers, then the enemy of my enemy must be my friend; even if privately I do find I want to shake him until his brains trickle out of his nostrils."

Snape laughed again surprising himself at how this chit amused him.

"Graphic, but oh yes! That is certainly how I feel at times!" he confessed.

Snape removed the book from her hand as they passed down Diagon Alley and she narrowly avoided colliding with a well-dressed witch.

"Not a good idea" he said.

She pulled a face.

"But it's so fascinating….oh, all right" she sighed as he frowned, pushing the Manual of Potions back into her cauldron. "Bet you did it too" she muttered rebelliously.

"And winning such a bet would in no wise stop me from correcting you now I am adult" he replied repressively.

She grinned at him and her nose wrinkled mischievously.

"Just pointing out about pots and kettles!" she said, irrepressibly.

Snape shook his head, suppressing the urge to laugh ruefully.

"You are the most impudent brat imaginable!" he told her.

She twinkled.

"But I do have my bad points too!" she informed him.

Snape gave up.

The next stop was to buy an animal familiar.

"Most students like owls" Snape told her dryly "Because of the Owl Post; owls carry messages.

"And I have who to whom I'd need to write?" Krait sniffed. "Can I have a snake?"

"I dare say you can. Certainly you MAY" he replied dryly.

"Pedant" she said, cheerfully.

There was a large tank filled with snakes; and the petshop owner was a trifle startled by Krait's sibilant greetings. The snakes reared and writhed in pleasure as she chatted to them; and she pointed to a large black constrictor.

"That one. Isn't he handsome?" she said to the proprietor. "He looks just like Professor Snape, so I shall call him Septimus."

The woman gave a slightly sickly smile.

"Certainly, my dear" she said, reaching in for Krait's chosen companion.

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Well, like the Roman emperor you know – Septimus Severus" explained Krait.

"I am acquainted with history" he said, dryly. "I wondered at your description."

Krait chuckled.

"It's the nose" she said obscurely. "Oh, he's LOVELY!" as the proprietor handed the snake to her. Krait stroked the bluntly pointed head of her new friend and wrapped his lengthy coils a couple of times about her waist. Snape gave her a quizzical look.

"Most people might be concerned about being squeezed" he said mildly.

Krait looked surprised.

"But he knows I'm a friend not a meal" she said "And if he forgot I could ask him not to."

"Fascinating" he murmured. "I've never had much chance to ask the two Parselmouths I know just how much control over snakes they really have. I've only seen some of the effects."

"Two?" she queried.

His face tightened.

"Your father, obviously. And….Potter. Apparently the night er, Fishface failed to kill him and his mother sacrificed herself, in addition to reflecting the _Avada Kedavra_, the killing curse, Potter acquired some of your father's powers. Including Parseltongue. It enabled him to understand the Basilisk that ….but it's a long story and makes the repellent boy look good, or at least everyone seems to think him something wonderful."

Krait shot her mentor a shrewd glance through her long lashes.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" she repeated the aphorism. "We aren't required to like him. I WILL make an ally of him, you know. I have to."

Snape grunted. It could have meant anything; agreement or disagreement.

Mr Ollivander beamed at Krait as he got down several boxes of wands.

"Try some of these, young lady" he suggested. "Though I'm not sure I've found the right one yet…"

Krait flicked each wand in turn, experimentally.

Sparks came from most, but her frown deepened with each.

"They form a focus, don't they?" she asked Snape. "Like a magnifying glass for power."

"Precisely" said Snape. "One's wand is very individual. Though you seem to produce satisfactory results from several."

Krait scowled.

"No, not satisfactory" she disagreed. "Vaguely adequate. Like the cheap glasses people get that kind of correct their sight but aren't proper prescription glasses. There's a box up there…" she pointed.

Ollivander looked startled.

"I – that wand is one I'd half expect to go to a Dark Wizard" he said.

Krait shrugged.

"Assume I'm grubby round the edges" she said dryly.

Ollivander lifted the box down, carefully.

"Holly, with a Basilisk crest core" he almost whispered "The basilisk killed by Harry Potter no less"

Snape snorted.

"The basilisk was set up to protect the school by Salazar Slytherin" he said loudly. "He had no idea that the school would ultimately admit those of muggle blood. It was a…miscalculation on his part."

"An extremely unfortunate one, if I may say so Professor" said Mr Ollivander dryly.

"But reasonable given his time and circumstance" snapped Snape. "And that makes the core appropriate to you, of course, Krait."

She looked questions at him.

"Your father considered himself – with some reason – to be Slytherin's heir" he said, softly, his black eyes bright with unfathomable emotion. "You too have Slytherin's blood in your veins. I advise you not to speak of it overmuch at school – but it is something to carry in your heart with pride."

Krait raised an eyebrow.

"Pride in being descended from a founder is all very well" she said "But not if it turns one into a megalomaniac with delusions of adequacy like my father."

He shrugged.

"You keep telling me how you're not stupid" he said, his eyes glittering as he scored the point. "Try the wand."

She grinned.

"_Touché" _ she murmured, picking up the wand with care.

The slightest flick poured out green and red stars; and the force almost blew her backward.

"That's more like" she said with satisfaction. "Good ol' Salazar, his pet _**rocks**_!"

Ollivander beamed at the result, not really understanding her words but glad his customer was pleased.

Snape shuddered and shook his head at her flippant comment; and she winked at him.

"You will require robes" he told her. "School uniform robes and also a formal robe. You are of an age to take part in the Yule Ball."

She snorted.

"Foolishness. Is it compulsory?"

He nodded.

"I'm afraid so. The budget stretches only to second-hand robes. The styles will be out of date and fairly random."

She shrugged.

"So get me pictures of up-to-date robes and a larger robe than I need in reasonable fabric. I sew very well; the training may have been harsh, but it was thorough. My housewifely skills have been zealously honed. I can make over something so that you are not disgraced by my appearance. I can also darn the elbows of your robes better than you do." She added.

Snape flushed.

"Indeed?" he asked, coldly.

"I noticed when you raised your wand to me earlier" she said. "Because I knew I could do a better job. You do WANT to look cooler don't you?"

Again he was torn with conflicting emotions; and his black eyes caught hers and held them. He could detect no sly smirk making fun of him however, only willingness to do her best. He shrugged as though indifferent.

"As you wish" he said.

"Just move purposefully forward through the wall" Snape told Krait at King's Cross Station. "Then you will be on Platform Nine-and-threequarters." It was the morning after he had taken her out of the orphanage; they had spent the night in rooms at the Leaky Cauldron Inn and he had sent her to bed early and forbidden her to read in bed after she had questioned him extensively about Hogwarts, her father, Potter and the Triwizard competition and advanced a few of her own theories quite forcefully. Now he viewed a five hour train journey with her with mixed feelings. The train was travelling to Hogwarts in any case, carrying supplies, and Dumbledore had suggested the girl might enjoy arriving the way most people did rather than apparating her to Hogsmeade. It was a slower way to do things but sometimes Dumbledore was like that, thought Snape. And judging by what he had seen so far she would enjoy it as she seemed to enjoy every new experience. Whether he would do so was another matter. Well, they would see how she coped with walking through what appeared to be a solid wall.

The girl nodded obediently and trustingly at his instructions though she shot a dubious glance at the wall; and did as she was told.

"Remarkable" Snape muttered to himself. "Normally they need to see someone else do it to prove it can be done." He followed, and found Krait chatting to a goblin fireman by the engine.

"Get in, girl, hurry up!" he admonished her.

Krait nodded to her newest acquaintance and obediently swung up into a carriage.

"How far is it?" she asked. "Or do I mean how long will it take? I guess for wizards the two aren't always related."

He smiled a thin smile.

"You guess correctly – to some extent" he said. "Apparating is instantaneous; but some places have Apparating blocks in force. Hogwarts is one such place. The journey will take approximately five hours; the school is in Scotland."

"So I've got time to start studying and ask you questions on the way!" she said, happily, heaving books out of her cauldron.

"So long as you do not purpose to prattle all the way you may do as you please." He said.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to AfraidOfFalling for the suggestion of scene breaks; I don't have a squiggle on my laptop so hope this does; picked very Brit and understated…_

**Chapter 3: ****Arriving at School**

Krait enjoyed the journey to Hogwarts. She dipped into several of her school books, reading quickly through the first few chapters to establish the background.

"I see more now what you meant about Arithmancy being vital for the serious Potioneer" she said. "You said something about suggesting I should choose it; I'm glad you did, because it's fascinating. But what am I choosing it instead of? I should have asked, but you whirlwinded me through that rather."

Snape lifted an eyebrow.

"I hardly think you would need Muggle Studies having been all too closely acquainted with muggles for your early life," he said "Ancient Runes has its place, but frankly if you come across anything you need written in Ancient Runes, they are easy enough to puzzle out once you know what runes they are. And the other elective, Divination, is frankly a waste of time. Many take it as a soft option because they find Arithmancy too hard."

"What astrology and that crap?" Krait scoffed. He raised both eyebrows at her description.

"I should not have chosen quite such vulgarity of terminology myself" he said, a trifle repressively. Krait chuckled at him, quite unabashed.

"You mean you don't think of the assorted absurdities of fortune telling in thoroughly scatological terms?" she asked.

Snape's mouth twitched into something close to a smile.

"I never said that, child. I had really rather describe it as a selection of truly excrescent and unwholesome concatenation of fantasy and fiction that flows, in the main part like a river of cacation from the inutile lips of the incontinently incompetent."

She clapped her hands.

"Ah, you are splendid!" she crowed happily. "and though I can guess at the meanings, I've not even encountered all those words!" she frowned. "But you say this Potter character is part of a prophesy?"

He shrugged.

"There are true seers. The talent is rare and even more rarely manifested. I am not even sure that the prophesy may not even be suspect – in light of the fact that I regard the speaker of it to be in all other respects a hopeless incompetent. But there is no doubt that she does not recall making it which is usually the sign of true prophecy. The teaching of mildly suspect methods to teenage wizards unlikely to interpret any further future than that they will have breakfast in the morning seems a trifle futile to me, however."

Krait grinned.

"I'm glad you elected an interesting elective for me. It's what I'd have chosen if I'd had a chance to be better informed beforehand. I'm interested in mathematics and there are enough parallels to make it relatively easy"

"I'm so glad" he murmured with heavy irony. Krait ignored the irony and beamed at him.

"I've some questions about potions" she said.

Snape sighed to himself; but her questions were pertinent and subtle; and he found himself enjoying explaining the points she had raised, and delivered a lecture for the most of the remaining journey. He was pleased that she whipped out parchment to make notes as he spoke. If her practical ability equalled her theoretical interest she would be easy enough to teach. And he had every expectation that her talent would be high.

As the train came close a little shiver ran through her body.

"We're nearly there, aren't we?" she said, sharply, slipping her hand once more into his.

He nodded, wondering how to disengage her clinging fingers and torn between amusement and horror that she should consider him an appropriate person on whom to lavish such trusting expressions of affection.

"Yes. How did you know? And what is wrong?"

"I can feel it…the tingle like when you cast spells, and like Diagon Alley feels like. I suppose I'm a bit nervous….afraid of failure…new people. Most other kids can relieve their feelings by pouring out impassioned mummy-I-miss-you letters but I have to hold aloof from you, Domine, because what can be said to a parent can't be said to someone who also has to be fair to the other kids. If - when - I make enemies."

"If you have a need to tell me anything I trust you will." He said

"But that's the point, isn't it? Some things I might want to talk to someone about couldn't come to you because it makes it official. Not that I ever have had anyone to tell things to, not since Anna….but…" she sighed.

"You will soon make friends" he said harshly.

"Mmm. Swotty me who doesn't even like people. Coming late after everyone already has their own coterie sorted out. I'm not bothered about friends, you know. I just feel nervous and you're here until we actually get there to use as a comfort blanket." She grinned at him ruefully.

A number of expressions chased themselves over Snape's face. Outrage was one of them; several were unfathomable.

The train stopped.

"Get your things and hurry along" he said harshly. "If you don't want to miss supper."

"I'll say not!" said Krait, with feeling. "I've been on bread and water for the last four days, I could murder something to eat, even school food!"

"Hogwarts sets an excellent table" said Snape, snippily. "You will find nothing to complain about in the viands provided."

-/-

Krait had never seen anyone as large as the bearded man who was waiting for them.

"Evenin'" he said "I'm Hagrid; I'll be rowing you across the lake."

"Krait Day" said Krait. "I say, do you have a motorbike? You look as if you ought to."

Hagrid beamed.

"Well as it happens, little miss, I do" he said. "An enchanted one o'course. In you hop" he indicated a boat.

"Cuh! Does it fly?" Krait wanted to know, with regard to the motorbike.

"Only too frequently" cut in Snape. "It's supposed of course to be invisible or disillusioned when so doing but Hagrid is known to be careless at times."

Hagrid blushed.

"I don't suppose anyone takes much notice" said Krait, mildly. "Even if they see it, they'd think they were drunk, most of them, or overtired and hallucinating. People mostly like to rationalise things, don't they?"

"Ar, that's true" said Hagrid, before Snape could say a word. "But it's still important to disillusion things like flying horses, say. If too many muggles did see such things there'd be trouble." He grinned a friendly grin at Krait "Yer'll be learnin' 'bout things like that, I'll be teachin' yer."

Krait blinked.

"Professor Hagrid teaches care of magical animals" said Snape, silkily. "It is supposed to be a class that shows care of the animals we use on a day to day basis and knowledge of the animals that are useful in potions; though Hagrid does like to… branch out in his fields of study."

Krait's eyebrow went up. There were underlying currents here, evidently. That Hagrid had not identified himself initially as a professor surprised her; he seemed altogether more informal than she would have expected of any teacher; and from his fur and leather garb she had assumed him to be a gamekeeper or groundsman or the like. The wizarding world evidently had stranger dress codes than those she had deduced from Diagon Alley's habitués.

"I'm sure it will be fascinating" she said politely. "Can you tell me please what is the name of that horse-like creature by the edge of the lake?" she pointed to the almost skeletal bat winged creature that had emerged from scrub to drink at the lake's edge.

Snape and Hagrid exchanged glances.

"You can see it, can you?" Snape asked, sharply. Krait nodded.

"You poor child!" Exclaimed Hagrid.

"I don't understand" said Krait. "I thought that …I mean, I could see the man who said he was a goblin for what he is…"

"Only those who have seen death can see Thestrals" said Snape. "To others they are invisible. Where have you seen death, child?"

Krait put up her chin.

"The girl Anna" she said quietly. "I was her charge as Jade and Lydia were amongst mine; she hanged herself. I found the body. She was probably pregnant, you see. A need for affection substitute."

Krait was very proud of the way she kept her voice controlled; and annoyed that she had to sniff loudly at the end of her explanation.

"I don't see why…" Hagrid began.

"The orphanage where Miss Day has been….incarcerated…is a place of some horror that would bring joy and delight to the hearts of the average Deatheater" said Snape, dryly.

"Deatheater?" asked Krait.

"Followers of hrm, Fishface" Snape explained. He seemed to need to pause before using Krait's chosen description.

"Fishface?" it was Hagrid's turn to query.

"More graphic and less childish than You-know-who, don't you think?" said Snape waspishly.

"Ar, I like that!" agreed Hagrid.

No more was said about the Thestral; and Krait kept her mouth shut. Many of her peergroup in the orphanage had seen death before getting there; it was not as though road accidents and murder were terribly unknown occurrences. Wizarding children seemed to be expected to be more protected, judging by Hagrid's reaction to a girl of sixteen years old having seen a corpse. Even in normal families surely one might have expected to see a dead grandparent? Maybe wizards and witches lived longer than normal folk – muggles, she corrected herself. To wizards and witches, they themselves were the ones who were normal.

"Big castle" she commented as they approached the castle blazing with light.

"Grown over the centuries, o'course" said Hagrid. "Plenty o' secrets there, an' Professor Snape good at prowling after them to stop you youngsters usin' too many secret passages for illicit purposes."

Snape grunted.

"Miss Day is going to be too busy catching up her work to engage in nefarious nocturnal peregrinations" he declared.

Hagrid winked at Krait!

For a moment she thought she had imagined it; but he gave her such a sympathetic smile that she had to smile back. Of course, she thought, Professor Snape is quite right; and I have no desire to engage in nefarious peregrinations – nice word! – but it is nice to know that Hagrid – I can't add a 'professor' to him somehow – has sympathy with such adolescent urges of exploration.

-/-

Confronted by four filled tables of schoolchildren regarding her with curiosity as she entered the Great Hall made Krait freeze momentarily. Snape put a hand to the small of her back and pushed, firmly.

"Walk to the stool where the hat is" he hissed.

"Sorry Domine" she murmured. She swallowed hard, threw her head up proudly and stalked to the stool whereon lay a battered wizard's hat.

A tall wizard, who could never be mistaken for anything else in his own pointed hat and flowing white beard, stood.

"Please welcome Miss Day" he said. "Miss Day, if you would care to put the hat on it will tell you which house you will be in."

Krait lifted the hat, sat on the stool and raised it onto her head. She was immediately conscious of an awareness feeling her thoughts.

"_**You are sentient then**__"_ she asked silently.

"_**Of course. How else could I do the job of determining which house you fit in? you are quite a study – clever enough for Ravenclaw, brave enough for Gryffindor, hard working enough for Hufflepuff and ambitious enough for Slytherin."**_

_** "I want to be a Slytherin with Professor Snape. Does that count for anything?"**_

_ "__**It does."**_ Aloud the hat cried "Slytherin!"

Krait heard a red-haired boy mutter

"Coo, it had to think about that, didn't it?"

He looked a pleasant lad; but Professor Snape ushered her to another table and led her to a tall, slender boy with sleeked back hair almost as pale as her own.

"Draco, take care of Miss Day, if you please" said Snape.

The boy looked dismayed; and looked down his nose.

"I don't babysit first years, Professor!" he whined.

"You do what you are told, Malfoy!" snapped Snape. "Besides, Miss Day is no first year, she will probably be in your class. Move up!"

Malfoy grudgingly moved up. As soon as Snape had left to sit at the staff table he said softly,

"You had better do as I say, Day. I'm class leader here."

Krait regarded him thoughtfully and reached for food. She ate silently for a few minutes; and Malfoy smiled at what he assumed was compliance. Then she spoke.

"I don't take orders from some other grubby schoolbrat" she said.

Malfoy flushed.

"How dare you! Have you any idea who I am?"

"You're the kid I'm going to give a nosebleed to if you interfere with me" said Krait calmly. "I have no desire to play any kind of crony game."

** "**You – I'll teach you a good lesson as soon as we're in our common room!" Malfoy snarled.

Krait raised an eyebrow, glancing at the two bully boys who sniggered.

"You mean, you'll order your two tame apes to try to hurt me because you've not got the balls to do anything yourself" she said, calmly, continuing to eat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note**: _whilst I normally like the pictures in my head from the book better than the film I do like the staircases so I'm stealing them a little bit._

**Introducing a convention I shall use: ** _for Parseltongue I shall write in italic and instead of quote marks will use four bold italicised 's' __**ssss**__ like that. Thanks to AfraidOfFalling for suggestions and feedback about that!_

**Chapter 4: **a few surprises forDraco – and others.

"Leave ME to deal with her, Crabbe, Goyle" ordered Malfoy as they stood in the rather dreary Slytherin common room. "Day, you have the chance to apologise now. I am Draco Malfoy, and my father is a governor of this school."

"Last school governor I met, I put fireworks in his trouser pockets" commented Krait. "Forget any apology, I've nothing to apologise for. You may apologise to me, however for your contumely and insolence if you like."

Malfoy spluttered and pulled out his wand.

"Are you threatening me with that thing?" said Krait, managing to sound amused.

"Too right I am!" yelled Malfoy, pointing it at her.

"_Serpens"_ murmured Krait.

Instantly the boy's wand writhed, hissing in his hand. He dropped it with a yell.

_**ssss**__Come to me pretty one __**ssss**_ Krait hissed. Obediently the snake wriggled towards her. She picked it up.

"Get her!" Malfoy howled at Crabbe and Goyle.

"_Supinus!" _ she pointed at Crabbe "_Porce!"_ she pointed at Goyle. Crabbe fell flat to the ground; Goyle squealed horribly as his face took on the aspect of a pig. Krait narrowed her eyes at Malfoy. "_Sectum Septum_" she said, deliberately. Latin seemed to work well enough so far, after all.

Blood sprayed from Malfoy's nose and he screamed.

"She's not even using her wand!" said a pug-faced girl. "Draco, sweetie! It'll be all right! Bitch, mend it!" she rounded on Krait.

"Ah, that's a problem" said Krait. "I assumed you types would know how to heal a cut, for I'm not sure of the word to use. Stay out of this Crabbe or I'll turn you into a worm."

The boy cast a frightened glance at the squealing Goyle and backed off.

"Great and loyal friends you have, Malfoy" she said cynically. "Sorry I assumed more knowledge in you – and them. Let's get you to sick bay. Or should it be Professor Snape?"  
"Sigbay" Malfoy managed. He had the uncomfortable feeling that Snape might ask too many questions. Krait put a supporting hand under the boy's elbow; the girl took the other arm, glowering at Krait.

-/-

There was a brief encounter in the corridors as they went. A boy with yellow and red trim to his robes perhaps a year older than Krait stared.

"What have you been up to Malfoy?" he asked, hiding a snigger in his hand.

Krait regarded him coldly.

"It was your business why?" she asked.

"Get more than you bargained for, eh, Malfoy?" the Gryffindor boy persevered.

Krait let go of Malfoy, walked up close and smiled.

"Malfoy had an accident. You, however, are about to have an on-purpose" she said pleasantly; and without warning nutted him hard in the nose.

The Gryffindor boy howled.

"House honour satisfied, I think" Krait remarked to Malfoy. "I take it we do not let our private quarrels become public property?"

"Ad least you udderstadd thad" muttered Malfoy.

-/-

"What have you been up to Draco?" asked Madame Pomfrey. "_Episkey" _ she murmured.

The blood flow dried up immediately.

Draco muttered something about a demonstration that went wrong.

"I don't understand" said Madame Pomfrey. Draco had the uncomfortable feeling that she understood only too well.

"Malfoy was demonstrating some things to me, me being new" said Krait "I was overenthusiastic in trying things out. And didn't know how to fix it. I will remember _episkayo_ now, I'm sure" she smiled brightly. Pansy Parkinson, Draco's girlfriend, opened her mouth; and Draco stood on her foot, hard. She shut it again.

"Thanks" Malfoy said grudgingly.

Krait shrugged.

"We established how things stand. I'm hard enough to stand against you, so I get to do my own thing. I don't join gangs. Especially the sort of gangs that let apes like Crabbe and Goyle in."

Malfoy opened his mouth and shut it again. Then he said

"What about my wand?"

Krait fished the little snake out of her pocket.

_**ssss**__Sorry little one __**ssss **_ she said regretfully, straightening it out and returning it to being a wand. She reflected that she must not turn inanimate things into animate if she must later return them; but, she thought to herself, she could not deprive the boy of his wand either. She passed it back to him.

"Where were you at school before?" he asked. "They've taught you an awful lot about transfiguration!"

Krait shrugged.

"I never learned THAT in school. I was stuck in a muggle school before Professor Snape discovered who I was and took me out. He's been lecturing me pretty intensively all weekend."

"All weekend? That can't be right! It takes years to learn to use magic!" Malfoy objected.

"I was using it before, just not in a very focused way. Now I know it's mostly based on Latin – which I am pretty fluent in – and done by focusing the will, I don't see that there's anything I can't do" said Krait calmly. "Everything I've tried so far comes pretty easy. And as changing shapes is the easiest I suppose I shall have to restore Goyle. Are you certain you want me to? I think he's prettier as a pig."

Pansy Parkinson giggled.

"You'd better" said Malfoy. "Professor Snape might notice."

Krait nodded.

"It would be unwise to rely on him thinking the transfiguration an improvement" she said straight faced.

"How can you say transfiguration is EASY?" complained Pansy.

Krait shrugged.

"Because to me it is. Everyone has different talents."

"You're a Parselmouth" said Malfoy. It sounded like an accusation. "Are you a relation of Potter?"

"Not that I know" said Krait. "I came by mine by inheritance, not by accident, which Professor Snape tells me is the origin of Potter's linguistic peculiarities."

"Who did you inherit it from?" he wanted to know, rather ungrammatically.

Krait shrugged.

"Professor Snape told me to be discreet about my background and parentage" she said. "As he's my guardian, I guess I'd better respect his wishes, don't you?"

"Your GUARDIAN? Yuk!" said Pansy.

Krait scowled.

"I find Professor Snape in all ways an eminently acceptable guardian" she said coldly. "I had far rather have a guardian that does snippy than one that does gushy."

"Yeah, you're pretty cold blooded yourself, Day" said Malfoy.

"Thanks" she inclined her head gravely for all the world as though she believed it had been meant as a compliment.

-/-

The way the staircases worked was something of a revelation, as Krait found when trying to find her way to lessons next day. Their variable nature was challenging to say the least, and Krait was tempted to see if she could transfigure into a bird and shortcircuit the whole business, only she had promised Professor Snape not to transfigure herself until she had more knowledge. She took the option of staying close to her peer group of Slytherin to run up a flight before it moved elsewhere, not even stopping to wonder that the figures in the paintings on the walls seemed to move about too. It was all a lot to take in at once!

-/-

Krait's first lesson of that first morning was Transfiguration. Professor MacGonagall set the class a task and came over to her.

"Professor Snape tells me he has explained some of the basics to you" she said in her lilting brogue. "I don't suppose a girl your age has any desire to muck about, but I will open with my usual warning that I exclude from my class those who cause trouble as Transfiguration can be so risky."

Krait nodded.

"Professor Snape said that experimenting with one's own body was not a good idea" she said. She did not add that she had made him almost laugh by saying that she would have to wait until she had made a few choice enemies to experiment on instead.

"Quite" said Madame McGonagall dryly. "I have a matchstick here, my dear, perhaps you could concentrate very hard and try to turn it into a needle."

Krait glanced at the matchstick. The change was easy. Professor McGonagall was watching her, not the needle.

"You'll want to get your wand out, dear, and concentrate" she said, a trifle impatiently.

"Oh, no, Professor, it changed happily enough without having to bother with a wand" said Krait, blandly. McGonagall glanced down at the shining needle and blinked.

"Again" she said. "Use your wand this time."

Krait sighed, got out her wand and flicked it negligently at the next matchstick McGonagall laid down. It jumped and changed into a needle threaded with silver and green thread.

"Don't improvise at this stage" the Scotswoman admonished.

"It's difficult not to with a wand" said Krait apologetically. "On easy things, anyway. It seems to have a few ideas of its own, or else any stray thoughts I have in my subconscious get picked up by it. Actually, that's more likely, isn't it?"

"Wands do not possess a consciousness" said Madame McGonagall. "Try making a button into a beetle. That's much harder."

Krait looked at the button.

"Any particular species, Ma'am?" she asked. "I'm not that knowledgeable about entomology."

McGonagall shot her a sharp look, but there was no sign of cheek about the girl's face.

"Any beetle will do" she said.

Krait thought hard about the iridescent beetles she had seen in the natural history museum. If one was to do a silly task it might as well be done well and be pretty.

The large shimmering beetle wandered blithely across the desk.

"And turn it back" said the professor.

"No, I don't think so" said Krait, thoughtfully. "I have decided that it is against my moral code, if once you give awareness to a previously inanimate object, to then deprive it of its existence. That leads to a callousness towards life, wouldn't you say?"

McGonagall stared. On the one hand that was intolerable cheek. On the other it argued a level of compassion that should be nurtured. Especially occurring in a Slytherin.

"That type of beetle will die in the cold of the Scottish climate" she pointed out.

"Oh dear" Krait pulled a face. "I hadn't thought of that." She waved the tip of her wand and the brightly coloured beetle shrank into a familiar ladybird. "That's better" she said, in satisfaction. She persuaded the little creature onto her finger and went to the window to let it out.

"The, er, the rest of the class have been changing hedgehogs into pincushions" said Professor McGonagall. "I trust you have no moral objections to that?"

"Not so long as they are restored to their natural form and released" said Krait, calmly. "Nor so long as they are not stuffed with pins if anyone is incompetent enough to make an incomplete transformation."

McGonagall compressed her lips.

"Only one of the class has to date made a truly successful transformation" she said, dryly. "Miss Hermione Granger."

Krait raised an eyebrow. The name was familiar. Snape had made a brief diatribe about Potter and his cronies; Granger's name had been mentioned. Snape appeared to think her a self satisfied smart alec, and Krait had laughed, saying that the description fitted her equally well. He had sniffed.

The hedgehog sniffled about. Krait steeled herself.

"Sorry, little friend" she said. "I'll be as quick about this as I can."

McGonagall opened her mouth to admonish the girl for talking to a dumb animal; and shut it again.

The hedgehog shimmered briefly with a startled squeak, then in its place lay a patchwork pincushion with an intricate embroidery design on it. McGonagall stuck a pin in it; there was no squeak nor desire to curl up.

"Well done" she said.

Krait carefully removed the extra pin; and flicked the wand. The hedgehog gave her a faintly reproachful look and resumed its exploration of the desk.

"You were supposed to leave it in pincushion form" the rebuke was quite mild. Krait's eyebrows drew together.

"Then if it's all the same to you, Madam McGonagall, I'll stick to changing inanimate to inanimate and animate to animate" she said. "I can do the transfiguration that's important to me so if you exclude me for my principles that's all that matters."

"My dear child, I have no intention of excluding you for a sensitive and compassionate spirit!" said McGonagall, exasperated. "What do you mean, the transfiguration that's important to you?"

Krait shrugged.

"Oh, turning into a snake and back. Professor Snape said it had a proper name, but I've forgotten what it was. I've had a lot to learn."

McGonagall stared.

"You are an animagus? Since when?"

"Yes. That's the word" said Krait nodding happily. "When Professor Snape turned me into a snake, I figured out how he did it and did it right again."

Her tutor gasped.

"He turned you into a snake? That's a forbidden punishment!"

"Oh, but he had every excuse" said Krait, cheerfully. "I thought he was a nutter or a social worker at first, though I repeat myself, so I was going out of my way to be deliberately obnoxious and obstreperous. I can, you know" she admitted blithely.

Madam McGonagall choked slightly. The idea of this tiny and inoffensive looking girl going out of her way to be obnoxious and obstreperous – and to Severus Snape of all people – was a little much to swallow!

"Apparently you find transfiguration easier than most people" she said "And whilst that is to the good for your personal development you must not become complaisant. There are rules to learn about it. There is the bell – I want you to read about switching spells and write me a nine inch essay on them to hand in tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am" said Krait.

-/-

"Nice job on your pin cushion" said a pretty blonde girl in Gryffindor colours who had evidently been taking notice of Krait's lesson. "I hadn't thought about it being cruel. I mean, they're not aware while they're in another form, are they?"

"Ever asked one?" queried Krait.

The girl frowned thoughtfully.

"N..no.." she said. "I didn't think we'd be asked to do anything outright cruel, because that would make us no better than dark magicians, so I guess they must know, mustn't they?"

Krait shrugged.

"I'll ask my guardian" she said. "I'm Krait Day"

"Hermione Granger. You don't seem like a Slytherin. Who's your guardian?"

"Professor Snape" Krait decided to ignore the implied slur on her house.

Granger whistled.

"Poor you! How did you come to get lumbered with that infernal swine as a guardian?"

Krait raised an eyebrow.

"I rather like him actually" she said, mildly. "He has no social graces and is about as tolerant as Torquemada but I've been called a sociopath myself so I guess we get on just fine griping cynically at each other."

Hermione gave her an uncertain look.

"He really turned you into a snake?"

Krait nodded.

"It was brilliant" she said softly.

"You're weird! Professor Moody turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret, and he was terrified!"

Krait lifted an eyebrow.

"So much for a forbidden punishment" she murmured. "I'd have said he'd have made rather a cute ferret. But then I quite like ferrets." She thought for a while and added "Besides, if I was already a latent, uh, animagus, it would just seem normal, right?"

Hermione looked dubious.

"Maybe….it's a really interesting point. Perhaps we can discuss that another time when we've got more time?"

Krait nodded eagerly.

"That's the trouble with schools….they teach 'how' not 'why' and neglect a lot of background" she said. "The old, old story 'it'll become clearer when you're older' which I bet means 'I don't know'"


	5. Chapter 5

_Rather a short chapter I'm afraid; due to chapter break revisions_.

**Chapter 5: **A Rather Cold Dungeon

The first Potions class Krait attended had her peering around the classroom, interested in all the mysterious jars and equipment on the shelves, a cross between chemistry, alchemy and the traditional storybook witches' cavern, she mused. She was looking forward to this, everything she had read seemed quite fascinating, and it would take an act of faith to use ingredients that were often poisonous without the application of magical powers. Yet she trusted Professor Snape implicitly and looked up eagerly as he entered. She was somewhat disconcerted that his expression was quite cold; but reminded herself that so had it been when first he met her, and it was only to be expected that he would wish to keep a distance from his pupils. Besides, the dungeon classroom itself was hardly warm and welcoming, there was a draught from a high window and the door, though thick oak, seemed not to keep out the cold. The fire in the big grate burned sullenly, and did not add to the general air of warmth. The individual cauldrons would doubtless raise the heat, and she could see that Snape would not want the room overheated by them; but in such a large room she doubted that they would make much difference at a distance from the individual potioneer.

Snape was sneering and dismissive of the efforts most of his class put into their work, she noted, picking mostly on boys named Longbottom, Weasley and Potter, presumably that same Potter for whom Snape had already displayed a disliking. Hermione Granger did determinedly well, despite Snape's attempts to quell her. Krait also piped up cheerfully and he nodded approval when she correctly remembered the ingredients for an antidote.

"At least you have a retentive memory, Miss Day" he said. She grinned, but her eyes gleamed. He had not congratulated Hermione on her memory.

"We'll have to change the name of the class to the 'Granger and Day' show, sir" she quipped.

Snape glowered.

"Over her – and your – dead bodies" he growled.

Krait chuckled.

"At least we're competent, sir" she said.

"Miss Day, are you hoping to get a detention? If so I can have you back after school so that you can learn yet more antidotes…."

Krait's face lit up.

"Oh, may I sir? I'd like that very much!"

Snape swallowed hard.

"A detention, Miss Day, is not offered in the spirit of being a high treat but as a punishment. As for learning more potions I might equally change my mind and have you gutting horned toads!"

Neville Longbottom paled. Krait beamed.

"But sir, such punishments are surely only the more tedious and unpleasant parts of the potioneer's art – and as such all represent more that is to be learned!" she said "And I want to learn all aspects!"

Snape gave up.

His punishments were looked upon in fear and dread. To have them treated as rewards were beyond what he could cope with!

-/-

Krait did duly present herself at the dungeon after class; and proceeded to make good her time by settling down to help with such pickled toads as Neville had not already dealt with.

"It's messy and smelly so I can see why it's not popular" she said cheerfully. "What do we use them for? Is it only one bit we use or are the rest of the body parts discarded? That would be wasteful, surely?"

Snape blinked.

"In many potions, no, no, and therefore no." he said. The wretched girl was NOT going to get one over him by firing questions at him.

Krait beamed at him.

"I think you're the first teacher I ever met to be able to cope with a stream of questions like that….I'd hate to think that they were killed for only one small bit, poor things. Besides, it would seem to be an awful lot of effort to go to if so and the time could be better utilised by researching an alternative…and I thought they smelled bad on the outside!" she quoted cheerfully reaching for another.

"You are a strange child" Krait said.

"Yes, so I keep being told" she replied, cheerfully. "If I wasn't strange, I'd probably not have the capacity for happiness though….you have to be weird to find the best in a place like the orphanage. And I do truly want to learn all I can. Even the unpleasant bits. There's got to be a satisfaction in making a potion when you've overseen the preparation of every part of it, from the harvesting of the plants to the preparation of any animal parts….and besides, don't you think it's better to know where things have been rather than buying prepared ingredients on trust from someone whose competence you know nothing about?"

"Yes. Yes it is" he said. "At last. A pupil who appreciates the true calling of the potioneer's art. The subtlety of a delicate potion is enhanced by using the right ingredients prepared precisely….and the greater control over those ingredients, the greater the subtlety. You will learn from Krait the art of choosing time and place to gather or cull ingredients for greater efficacy, even the best time to brew them and the most efficacious number of stirs, their speed and direction…..such things most students learn by rote and apply from the experiments of others with greater or lesser accuracy. I truly believe" his eyes gleamed "That we shall make a true potioneer of you, not just one competent at brewing potions!"

Krait flushed in pleasure.

"I hope so" she said softly. "I would so like to please you, as well as wanting to do well on my own account."

"Do well because you are called to it…not to please me" he said harshly.

She smiled at him.

"Is it not natural that I should wish to make my Domine proud of me?" she asked. "Other students want to please their parents, and I am sure that many parents at least half expect their offspring to excel in their own favourite subjects….you are pleased that I seem quite good aren't you?"

"Of course I am….any teacher likes to teach a pupil who shines" he said. "Hurry up and wash your hands under the gargoyle, it's time for supper."

The gargoyle spouted clean water in a basin with a drain; and Krait thought it looked awfully like Goyle, who must therefore be missing a 'gar' somewhere along the way. She said so to her guardian; who grunted in his efforts not to laugh.

-/-

Despite her time taken with Professor Snape and his horned toads, Krait still found time to explore part of the castle and found her way to boxrooms covered in cobwebs and long unused, full of discarded furniture and drapes which had been thrown aside for the want of some mending. Several pictures stacked out of the way abused her roundly – presumably feeling snippy at being stuck in the attics – and Krait ignored them. Several appeared to be people in costume that echoed earlier ages, though were still strangely wizardly in type, and she assumed they were portraits of people now out of favour.

"I guess I'll try to come up for a good slanging match with you people sometime" she said "But right now, I'm a bit busy."

"Busy? You young people are always busy!" grumbled an old witch with a long nose. "You might at least brush our cobwebs off, it makes moving around much easier!"

"Certainly" said Krait, doing just that. "Moving around?"

"From picture to picture" said the witch "I like to nip downstairs to visit the Merry Monks you know; they have a great vintage of wine."

"Riiight" said Krait. There was a great deal to learn about the simplest things! Meantime, she had a mission.

Krait got busy with her needle, continuing to sew early in the morning before anyone else had risen. The result of her endeavours Snape saw the next time he entered his Potions Dungeon, where door and window were now draped with new curtains of dark red velvet, cunningly patched in places. There was a note pinned to the door curtain in Krait's forcefully cursive script. It read 'it shouldn't be so draughty now'.

There being a class of second years waiting, Severus Snape schooled his face to avoid showing any thoughts.

It WAS less draughty though.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:** meeting Harry Potter

Krait's first real encounter with Harry Potter came after Charms class. She had begun under a misapprehension when little Professor Flitwick had told her to make a pineapple dance; and burned red with mortification when he gently chided her for growing legs on her pineapple.

"For that makes it a transfiguration, my dear child" he informed her in his squeaky voice. Krait nodded and determined to do better. Her second attempt was performed adequately enough for Professor Flitwick to compliment her; though he had been taken aback when she added music played through the flowers of a Christmas Cactus that grew on the windowsill. Flitwick did not admonish her for the unnecessary embellishment; he was sufficiently impressed that she could concentrate on more than one charm at once and set her a screed of homework.

-/-

After class, Hermione Granger came over to Krait with Harry beside her and introduced him to the new girl.

Krait nodded and held out a hand.

"Professor Snape mentioned you" she said.

"Nothing good then" said Potter taking her hand warily.

She shrugged.

"I like to make up my own mind. Besides, I told him, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Potter looked even more wary.

_**ssss**__We be of one blood ye and I __**ssss**_ she hissed. Harry looked startled.

"What? How come?" he asked.

"Not a Kipling fan I see" said Krait dryly. "Never mind. You got it by ripping it; I got it by inheritance."

Potter stared.

"You mean…Voldemort…"

"Fishface sired me" she said, bluntly. "Professor Snape doesn't want it bandied about, but I told him you have a need to know"

"Bet that went down like a ton of bricks" said Harry. "What did he do – have you gutting horned toads?"

Krait looked surprised.

"No" she said. "I say, I think there's one of those clashes of personality between him and you, he's not done anything out of the way to me at all"

"Except turning you into a snake" said Hermione

"Yeah, but it doesn't count if you enjoy it" said Krait. "And I WAS being deliberately irritating at the time, like I told MacGonagall. When I put my mind to it I can reduce grown ups to frothing impotent fury and wanting to strangle me with my own intestines. It's a gift" she added with mock modesty.

"Why would you want to?" wondered Harry.

"Because when you find that you can't do anything right, and you're going to be punished anyway and you've no idea why or it seems pretty trivial, you might as well have the fun of doing everything wrong and give them an ulcer before they beat you" said Krait shrugging.

"BEAT you?" Hermione gasped.

Krait shrugged again.

"Harry probably knows about that sort of thing" she said "Professor Snape said he lives with muggles who hate him."

"Yeah, but they never beat me" said Harry. "Guess they're too scared of Professor Dumbledore for one thing."

"Well, there's more ways to hurt than physically" said Krait. "You have that look in your eye that kind of expects nastiness – yeah, you twitched at that, I'm right. You look pretty seedy, actually."

"It's this competition" said Harry. "I suppose you don't know about it."

"He mentioned it" said Krait. "I advanced the suggestion that someone is trying to kill you, which I guess pissed him off, because he reckons only he is allowed to kill his own students" she grinned impishly.

"He believes I put my name in myself" said Harry gloomily "In common with almost everyone else."

"I don't" said Krait "And I don't think he does, not really, even if he'd like to. I advanced a theory over how it could be done and he said you're no way a good enough potioneer."

"How?" Hermione was agog.

"Two sorts of disappearing ink. One that disappears immediately and develops with time, especially with heat present; and one that appears on writing it and fades over half an hour or so. Write your own name with the first, and make sure an older person you don't like has access to the paper and the second ink so they put in their own name – which becomes yours."

"That's really creative!" said Hermione. "Although of course it's cheating."

"And daft" said Krait. "It sounds a very dangerous and stupid competition, as well as wasting time for a whole year. The only other methods would involve someone doing it FOR Harry – with or without his knowledge; but only someone who understood the nature of this here goblet could ensorcel it to spit out four names, right? I told Professor Snape that he couldn't have it both ways, have a low opinion of Potter's abilities and still expect him to do that!"

"And he didn't do anything awful to you?" Hermione was cynical.

"Yes, he sent me to bed and forbade me to read!" grinned Krait. "I let him find out I love books as much as he does, so he exercised his sadistic streak even though it was only half past eight!" she shrugged. "Daresay he was right, though. It had been a busy day and I went out like the proverbial light." She added "He refuses to tell me about the basilisk though, which I do resent, 'cos apparently it's your basilisk's crest that I have in my wand."

Harry blinked rather owlishly.

"I suppose that sort of confirms you being Voldemort's daughter" he said.

"Don't SAY his name!" squeaked Hermione.

"It's childish saying You-know-who" grumbled Harry.

"That's why I coined Fishface as a good name for him" said Krait cheerfully. "Kind of degrading."

"Ok, Fishface" said Harry. "I like that. He IS kind of scaly to look at, a bit reptilian and snake like" he shuddered.

"Don't be rude to snakes" said Krait. "I'm sure the little creep doesn't really resemble such nice creatures at all. With what I knew before and have found out since I knew his self-styled lordery he's closer to being a nematode."

"A what?" asked Harry

"Flatworm" supplied Hermione.

"Threadworm" corrected Krait.

"Whatever" shrugged Harry. "Nasty creature."

There was an interruption as Malfoy and his cronies came over.

"What are you doing with these losers, Day?" he asked, sneering at Hermione. "Granger is a mudblood, be careful not to let her touch you."

Krait smiled blandly.

"We were discussing nematodes, Draco" she said, cheerfully. "Nothing to do with you, though I fear that Crabbe and Goyle fail to aspire to 'slimy' on the evolutionary scale. I fear I find your arguments of blood a trifle spurious in light of the fact that sufficient purebloods followed Voldemort to make asses of themselves in light of the fact that he's a half blood. In my book it's down to raw power, and we already had that discussion – in private. Let's not take it out of House, please."

Draco flushed.

"It's not true!" he said, furiously. "Lord Voldemort was a pure blood!"

"Calling Professor Snape a liar?" said Krait lazily. "Go ask him. I couldn't care, personally. A loser is a loser whatever their blood status."

Draco changed colour several times then stalked off.

"There goes one unhappy little boy" said Krait, thoughtfully.

"You certainly seem capable of making him unhappy!" gloated Hermione.

Krait shook her head.

"He's so aggressive about his status….strikes me he's miserable deep down. The emphasis he puts on his father, bet his old man is abusive, or at best indifferent."

"Lucius Malfoy is the cruellest man I've ever met bar Fishface" said Harry. "I managed to trick him into freeing his house elf Dobby because he was treated so badly."

"What in tarnation is a house elf?" demanded Krait.

She was greeted by a bombardment of explanation, mostly by Hermione, who waxed shrill. The S.P.E.W came into conversation.

"Nice idea in principle" said Krait, seriously. "Of course with institutionalised slavery it may take several generations to educate them to accept it."

"Why?" demanded Hermione.

"I've been institutionalised, in an orphanage – I have a better idea than you have about what being controlled does to people" explained Krait patiently. "Only the strongest minds can overcome the TERROR of being outside that organisation. I felt physically ILL going into the Leaky Cauldron – because it's a tavern, and therefore a sink of iniquity. I expect I will wake in the night at the times of Matins and Lauds for a very long time. There becomes a kind of comfort in the set rituals that many cannot shake off, even those who hate what they are doing. Many can become brainwashed into thinking it is their own choice. Overcoming the brainwashing will be a bigger task than the actual freeing. People need to want to be free before they can be freed. Trust me on that."

"Oh." Said Hermione. Harry grinned to himself at her chastened look; coming from somebody who had experience of institutionalisation Krait's words carried more weight than his had done. Hermione added "Would you like to join S.P.E.W? it only costs two sickles!"

Krait flushed a dull red.

"I'd like to" she said "But…the school and Professor Snape have already been generous to find me all my needs for school. I – I don't think it would be right for me to ask for cash as well. I f I can get a paid job in the next holidays, perhaps I can join then."

"Oh!" Hermione flushed as well. She knew Ron was badly off, but not to the point of destitution.

"I could lend you it" said Harry.

Krait regarded him gravely.

"I was taught that borrowing is a sin" she said "But under the circumstances I accept. Thank you. Supporting a cause against slavery is more important than a minor personal sin."

They blinked a little at the idea of debt being sin; but there was no time to discuss anything any further, for Hermione and Krait had to be in Arithmancy.

Krait was looking forward to Arithmancy, for its own sake and for its applications in Potioneering. It was a small class, only her and Hermione and a handful of Ravenclaws. Professor Vector was dubious.

"I'm not sure how well you will be able to catch up, Miss Day" she said. "Arithmancy is a complex subject and everyone here has already studied several years…."

Krait shrugged.

"I read through the first five books….it seemed straightforward enough; and what isn't covered by muggle mathematics is nice and logical" she said.

"We are only on the fourth book…where did you get the fifth?" Madam Vector wanted to know.

"I swiped it from Professor Snape's bookcase…may I ask a question?"

"Certainly. I hope Professor Snape won't mind you borrowing books willy-nilly from him."

"He won't….he wants me to learn Arithmancy anyway and told me to read whatever I needed….Madam Vector, I've heard about people apparating, would you use integral calculus with terms of _i _to work out the best places to connect between so you could go further than normal?"

Vector looked at her thoughtfully.

"Perhaps you won't have any trouble after all" she said dryly.

The class settled down and Krait found that she was well up with the rest; which was studying the basics of spherical trigonometry which would, Madam Vector explained, give a basis for apportation anywhere in the world without previous acquaintance with the place to be visited. She added with a glance at Krait that results would be fed into an integral to calculate the equation of apportation. Krait enjoyed herself; her basic trigonometry was very sound and she had read enough to find the class stimulating without being hard.

-/-

Hermione asked

"Where did you learn that about calculus? I don't know anything much about it except by definition!"

Krait grinned.

"I got excluded from economics when I blew up the teacher's desk so I sat in on sixth form maths instead….it was far more interesting, and I guess I must have used magic without knowing to make the teacher not even notice I was there."

"What are you like!" Hermione was slightly scandalised at the idea of blowing up a teacher's desk.

Krait shrugged.

"Antisocial, I told you!" she said cheerfully.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: **Krait makes an unexpected friend

Krait used one of the downstairs toilets on her way back to the Slytherin common room, and heard sobbing inside one of the stalls.

"I say…I'll come and talk to you in a minute, but I'm desperate for a pee" she said, and proceeded to rectify that. She knocked on the door from where the sounds emanated.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she called softly. "Has someone upset you?"

She did a double take when the pearly white head of a sobbing teenage ghost appeared through the door.

"Yes, lots of people!" it said.

"Oh dear" said Krait, feeling a little inadequate. "Would it help to talk about it?" somehow it seemed almost presumptuous to suggest helping a ghost; which is what this girl must be; after all had she not experienced the greatest mystery, death?

The whole girl emerged. She looked as eager as someone so miserable could be.

"I don't know if it would help or not. Most people don't want to take time to listen though." She snuffled again.

"Well, I'm not due in class for a while…and if I'm late to dinner I can live with it. It's not the first time I'll have missed a meal" said Krait cheerfully. The girl sobbed louder.

"That's so tactless, talking about eating when I can't!"

"Sorry" said Krait. Obviously this girl was really touchy. "My name's Krait. What's yours?"

"Myrtle. They call me Moaning Myrtle." She seemed to take a perverse satisfaction in that.

"Myrtle? That's pretty. It's a scented plant, isn't it?" asked Krait.

Myrtle seemed a little mollified.

"Yes…my dad used to grow it just for me. nobody else seems to know that."

"I studied some botany…it helps with herbology too. Who's been rotten to you?"

"They all are….they won't come in here and I'm so lonely. Even Harry Potter doesn't visit me any more" she sobbed loudly.

"That could be because someone's trying to hurt him or kill him and he's a little preoccupied…" said Krait.

Myrtle brightened.

"If they kill him he could come and share my bathroom with me" she said.

Krait looked at her.

"I say, being lonely's pretty bad, but I'm sure you're way too nice a girl to mean that really…not deep down" she said firmly. "You'd not want someone you liked to be miserable too, would you?"

Myrtle shuffled uncomfortably.

"Might do" she said.

"That's only the feeling of resentment talking" said Krait firmly. "You'll feel different on reflection and being more objective. How come I've not seen you flitting around like the other er, ghosts?" she had had the Slytherin ghost, the uncommunicative Bloody Baron pointed out to her, and has seen other ghosts here too, disproving her previously held theory that ghosts were so much superstitious bunk. It would take a while to learn what was real for the Wizarding world and what was pure superstition; she must keep an open, but sceptical mind. Myrtle answered her question about why she had not previously seen her.

"Because the Ministry made me stay here, where I died, because I made Olive Hornby's life so miserable haunting her on account of it being her fault I was in here when the Basilisk came out of the chamber of secrets and killed me!" said Myrtle venomously.

"Tell me all about it" said Krait. Myrtle needed no second prompting and told Krait how the girl Olive had bullied her and, whilst crying in the toilets, there were these awful staring eyes that were the basilisk.

"And it took them hours to find me, because no-one ever cared about me" said Myrtle dolefully "But it didn't half give Olive a shock when she found my body!"

"I bet….what year was that?"

"1943" said Myrtle sulkily "And when Olive complained I got stuck here ever since, only able to travel through the plumbing."

"Hmph" said Krait. "I'll see if I can come up with a way to rectify that…This Hornby woman should still be alive…I'll have to make a hobby of doing some physical haunting of her."

"What?" Myrtle looked interested.

"The things that spring first to mind are things like dead fish in her bed springs….glue on the toilet seat….giant hogweed extract in her face cream….chilli juice in her underwear… black face soap…things like that" said Krait cheerfully.

Myrtle squealed with delight.

"Oh I LIKE you…I could hug you…if only I could" she finished mournfully again, her eyes filling once again with tears.

"Hang about, let me think about this…" said Krait. "Matter and energy are the same thing, it's a principle of physics…it's only transfiguration." She concentrated and tentatively reached out an arm which became pearlescent; and put it around Myrtle's shoulders. She did not know enough theory yet to have any kind of awareness of the level of transfiguration that took; because she went on the instinctive knowledge that matter and energy WERE identical. The temperature in the toilet dropped slightly as Krait, operating on sheer instinct and a vague idea of how Yoda did things in films, drew on her surroundings. Myrtle cried harder.

"NOBODY's ever been that kind to me" she sobbed.

"I can't for long…my arm's going to sleep, and I'd find it inconvenient if it dropped off" said Krait. She gave the girl's shoulders a quick squeeze and returned her arm to normal. "I'll come and visit you as often as I can, will that be okay? I could bring some of my homework in here to do, just so you've got company."

"You really are nice" said Myrtle. "Will you be my friend? I don't have any real friends. Except Harry maybe."

"I'd like that" said Krait. "Harry is my friend too. I'll remind him that he's lost his manners as a gentleman."

-/-

Krait presented herself at Snape's office door in the evening as soon as she had finished her homework, which true to her promise she had done in Myrtle's loo, having collected a chair and old desk from the attic for the purpose. There was nothing wrong with either; they were just a little antiquated. Even more antiquated than the normal ones, she thought, for the schoolrooms here were like coming through a time warp into classrooms she had seen in old photographs. She smiled brightly at Snape, her sewing basket in her hand.

"What is it?" he asked. "In trouble already and sent to your head of house?"

She smiled seraphically.

"Oh ye of little faith!" she chuckled. "Actually, I suppose that's not too misplaced a suspicion really" she added. "I can manage trouble better than most. But I haven't met anyone I loathe yet."

He lifted an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked with a disbelieving tone.

"Oh no! I mean, no-one could LIKE Crabbe and Goyle – though I suppose their mothers must have before they learned to talk – but one does not LOATHE the insignificant, does one? It'd be like throwing a hate tantrum before flushing the toilet."

"I think I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that remarkably coarse summation" he said. "What did you want?"

"I came to do mending of course. I promised I would" she said. "Find me everything that needs darning and patching and I'll set to work. Men are dreadful about things like that – at least, boys are so I bet men are worse – and don't worry about holes in their socks where it doesn't show. But it shortens the life of the sock, you know, and is mightily profligate. Undies too the same."

He glowered.

"Oh – very well!" he said ungraciously "You did a good enough job on the curtains for the dungeon I suppose" and he went through to his sleeping room to collect sundry garments.

-/-

Krait was soon hard at work, cheerfully patching and darning, for many of his clothes were well worn. Krait reflected that, even taking into account buying books as a personal luxury, he must have some drain upon his purse that deprived him of a significant amount of his salary.

"Some of your robes will need making over totally soon" she said. "I can make them two into one, or if you can get me some fabric, I can use that. They'll look as good as new then and last years. If you can get me some remnant strips of velvet, I can copy one of those designs from Which Witch that are pretty fashionable and make them more durable too; or there might be enough to cut off my dress robe."

He grunted.

"Do as you see fit." He muttered. He knew his own dress robe for the ball was a trifle shabby; and went to get it. "What can you do with that?" he asked bluntly. "It's fraying at the cuffs."

"It's because you don't tie your sleeves back when stirring stuff" she told him.

"I hate having bare arms. Live with it" he grumbled.

"So wear a long sleeved t-shirt underneath!" she suggested.

"Don't nag" he said sharply. He resented the intrusion; and knew it was ungracious since she was actually doing him a favour. Both resentment and gratitude made him want to lash out and he bit back the desire to castigate her further.

She gave him a long, reproachful look and he muttered something about marking work and sat back at his desk. Krait turned a couple of pages in the Witch Weekly, and took herself out of the room. She returned shortly with her own dress robe, which she laid out on his floor and proceeded to cut away, laying aside the excess very carefully. Snape watched her covertly as she set about patiently pinning strips together to trim the frayed edges of his dress robe, humming to herself as she worked.

"Mark the line you want cut" he said impatiently. She looked up startled but did as she was bid. He ran his wand lightly along it.

"_Diffindo"_ he said.

"Handy" she remarked. "Thanks." She considered. "If magic can sew too, I expect that's what you've been using. And the stitches are too big. I'll stick to the by hand method there, I think." She mused "Or perhaps whoever devised the spells couldn't sew as well as me. Reckon when I'm better I might be able to improve on them."

He grunted and returned to his papers. Krait grinned to herself. He could do crusty as much as he liked; now she had determined that he was lonely she could fill the gap for him and find out why he was so unhappy that he had to shut everybody out.

"Do animals feel being things like pincushions while they are?" she asked, suddenly.

He blinked.

"I have no idea…I doubt it."

"I certainly hope not, or nobody here is any better than my father."

"How do you come to that sweeping conclusion?" he frowned.

"Callousness is a general thing" she said seriously. "Where do you stop an attitude of uncaring? Towards animals; towards house elves; towards goblins; towards muggles; towards mudbloods; towards halfbloods; towards Gryffindors – where do you draw a line? It's easier each time to move that line back, I think, it's how the Nazi regime got more and more categories of people put into concentration camps. Fishface manipulated people by playing on their prejudices, from what you have told me, and telling them that certain groups can be treated any way they like. Anything that says we have a right to ill treat other living beings is the thin end of the wedge!"

He stared at her in astonishment.

"Your point of view is interesting" he said cautiously.

"I know I claim not to like people very much – and I talked about experimenting on enemies. But it was just a joke, because things like that relieve my feelings. I don't like people very much, but really, I just don't want to have a lot to do with most of them. It doesn't mean I want to hurt them" she said, quietly. "Like you have no intention of poisoning one of us this term – rumours to the contrary – it's just a way of keeping us on our toes."

His eyes gleamed.

"Sure?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Apart from the fact that you're no dark wizard, it'd dent your pride too much if anyone accidentally died" she said "And on a practical level, if you did succeed with even one every year, the parents would start making noises about having you replaced I bet".

Snape glowered at her; and gave a reluctant laugh.

"I believe you begin to know me too well already" he said meditatively.

"Lots of parallels" she shrugged. "Two loners with tongues way too clever for most people to cope with. And an appreciation of the fact that we're each the only person we've ever met that we can hone our vocabularies on without getting met with looks of slack jawed incomprehension. I was BORN to be your family!"

"Professor Dumbledore is hardly stupid. I can let my vocabulary have full rein to him" protested Snape.

"But does he enjoy it as well as I do?" she asked. "Or merely understand it?"

"You are a pestilential brat" he took refuge in admonition.

"And if you didn't like me you'd have palmed me off onto somebody else by now" she said, shrugging. "At least you know where you are with me."

"Yes – irritable!" he retorted.

"Truly?" she asked, meeting his eyes. He stirred uncomfortably.

"No. intrigued. You have a talent that is incredible. If you had been the prophesy not Potter I would have found it easier to believe." He said.

"Raw power does not a winner make. That takes a combination of brains, common sense, nerve and luck" she replied. "Napoleon used to ask of his generals 'don't tell me if he's good, tell me if he's lucky'" she added. "I have heard a few garbled stories of what Potter is supposed to have done; and it strikes me he has two advantages."

"Really? What are they?"

"The ability to make friends, despite his background, leading to an invaluable pool of resources; and secondly, he IS lucky. Nobody can learn or buy luck. Of such are legends made" she added dryly. "I haven't figured out why the boy I met doesn't tally with your description. He seems mostly harmless to me."

"A lukewarm description."

"He seems a lukewarm sort of lad. I know he's worrying about this stupid contest, but he seems to lack fire. I guess something has to make him really mad before he reacts; but I'm concerned about his apparent lack of verve and élan."

Snape snorted.

"He answers back with enough verve and élan" he complained.

"Does he? Oh good. I'd hate to have our main hope against Fishface being namby-pamby" said Krait, cheerfully. "He needs to be able to break rules, you know, because any leader, even if he's little more than a figurehead, has to be able to think outside the box. To come up with surprise tactics. Any goody-goody has to be too conventional and boring to manage anything faintly creative."

Snape spluttered slightly at that.

"Search your feelings – you know it to be true" said Krait, plagiarising outrageously.

"He is a disruptive influence!" Snape almost yelped. "Especially with being treated like some kind of hero, it feeds his arrogance! And besides, Fishface is if not dead, unlikely to return!"

Krait looked at him critically.

"Funny" she said "Malfoy, I'd describe as arrogant. Potter seems pretty modest. Seems like it's somebody else you're describing. And Fishface isn't dead. I can FEEL him in my blood."

He looked at her sharply.

"Have you any mark on your arm?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"No, just a great deal of unease…Harry rubbed his scar once when I was talking to him, and I'd felt a surge of unease as he put up his hand. I think it throbs."

"Scars HE makes do" said Snape softly, rubbing his left forearm absently.

"That's why you don't like your arms bare?" she asked.

"It's none of your business!" he snapped.

"Excuse me, but it's all my business" she said coldly. "I infer that everyone is glad to pretend that he's gone for good and bury their heads in the sand. He's my blood, it's my responsibility to be involved with getting rid of him, and I need to know if you hate him enough to be along on that or if you want to pretend it's not going to happen too. Do you really think this Triwizard business is a coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence."

He gazed speechless for a long moment. Then he turned away.

"No. No, I know he isn't gone, I know he's there" he hesitated and then came to a sudden decision and rolled up his left sleeve; the brat was discerning and she DID carry the Dark Lord's blood…... Faintly the mark of a skull and snake could be discerned on his left forearm. He explained, "This is Morsmorde, the Dark Mark that he puts upon all his servants. It throbs at times. I followed him once, and realised that I was wrong….Professor Dumbledore helped me break the mental shackles, and I went back to Fishface's side, undercover, taking the risks to pass back information to the Order of the Phoenix…whilst James Potter lay snug in hiding playing happy families with Lily and their baby!" he finished bitterly.

Krait stored that away.

"You are one of the strong ones then" she said coolly. "To break away from a charismatic personality is hard…and even harder to remain at his side, risking the reforging of his slavery. It is good to know that my guardian is a hero. And it opens up possibilities of what we may do."

Snape snorted.

"I did what had to be done" he said, secretly pleased by the admiring look on her face. "I did it well; and I know that Dumbledore will ask it of me again when whatever is in store for Potter restores Fishface fully."

"And you will not do it alone." She said. "Present him with a gift – his talented daughter. Mercenary, I think, but not power hungry, else I should be a threat."

He stared.

"Ridiculous!" He shouted. "He is one of the greatest legilimens, mind reader that is, that have ever lived. He would discern your lie straight away!"

"How did you avoid it?" she asked.

"I am an occlumens of considerable skill. I can misdirect the probings of a legilimens."

"Then you'd better start on my extracurricular education pretty soon, had you not?" she asked.

"It is too dangerous! You will be altogether at too much risk – and risk everybody!" he shouted. She touched his arm.

"Teach me anyway. Then you can judge if I be a risk to this Order or not. Think of the advantages!" she said.

He regarded her with glittering black eyes. It might be an advantage at that…. She was not a child the way others of her own age, even those of the oldest of the combined sixth, were; she had seen death and faced fear and pain. Perhaps…. He spoke in clipped tones.

"I take your point….it is your right to be involved. And it may enhance our efficacy. To back up each other's stories with a slightly different slant….very well. I will teach you occlumency."

Krait smiled.

He warned,

"It will not be easy. He is cruel and suspicious – and capricious. He is as like to try the Cruciatus Curse to test your faith as legilimency. If you are not afraid now you should be; and you will be."

"I never said I wasn't afraid; but I am still involved whether I like the idea or not. What is this Cruciatus Curse then?" she asked.

"One of the three Unforgiveable curses; there is the Imperius Curse, that makes you perform actions regardless of your wishes. That can be resisted by the strongest. The Cruciatus Curse causes excruciating pain; it may be resisted somewhat. The Killing Curse, _Avada Kedavra_ I have spoken to you about…it has no counter."

She frowned thoughtfully.

"Can you cast the Cruciatus Curse?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" he asked harshly.

She swallowed and nodded an affirmative.

"I will need to be fully prepared, Domine" she said. "You will need to test me to know that I will not betray you. Do you think me a naïve idealistic idiot? I read too much to be unaware that such a coup will be hideously frightening and uncomfortable. But I can do it. I have to."

He stared at her.

"I believe you can, too" he said softly. "If only Potter…"

"If only Potter what?"

"Nothing!" he snapped, closing down the barriers that had almost opened.

Another time, she thought to herself. Another time.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Obscenity**__** use alert **__also rated M for cruciatus curse; Krait has a temper_

**Chapter 8: ** the good, the bad and the ugly.

Krait took the effort to get to know Harry better. That he was suffering as much from missing the closeness of his friend Ron Weasley, who wallowed in a jealous refusal to accept Harry's word about not putting his own name forward was probably worse than his fears for the competition. The foreign students did their own lessons but were generally underfoot as well, especially in the library, which Krait felt acutely, for she needed to use it often in her efforts to catch up all she had missed. Viktor Krumm and a bevy of admirers always seemed to be there, and negotiating them whilst ignoring the Durmstrang champion was a task in itself.

Meantime Harry was generally morose and not a little frightened; but busy pushing such of his friends that did believe him to arms length almost as though he were armouring himself against losing them too, as Krait disgustedly told Snape.

"I declare, he's quite as bad as you" she said "Afraid to come out of his ball of misery in case it's worse on the outside being sniped at than chewing on his own liver from the inside. He could almost be your _son_ for goodness sake but without any of the maturity you've gained!"

Snape froze and pain flashed across his face.

"Hardly" he said, harshly. "He is the image of his father. Only his eyes are his mother's…" he compressed his lips. "Potter is nothing like any son of mine could have been!" he insisted.

Krait was horrified that her words had hurt him. She took his arm.

"I am sorry, Domine!" she said. "I did not know that you had loved his mother!"

Snape turned sharply, shaking her arm roughly off his. His eyes blazed at her in sudden fury.

"Who says I did?" he asked, roughly pushing her aside as he stalked off. She stumbled and almost fell.

"You just did" Krait murmured quietly as she regained her balance. If he heard he gave no sign.

-/-

Krait threw herself into lessons for a few days; she had managed to alienate her guardian somewhat, though she had every expectation of regaining his confidences. He was certainly harsh towards her in Potions lessons; but she had expected that and accepted his expectance of high performance with equanimity. Hermione gave her a startled look when he snapped at his ward as harshly as he had snapped at her; but Krait smiled at the girl cheerfully.

Snape had also given Krait one lesson in occlumency; meeting her eyes, with the word 'legilimens' she had felt his mind invade hers, seen visions of memories she had preferred remain buried. She had pushed, blocked, and passed out.

"You will have to increase your stamina" he had said harshly as she came to. He did give her a glass of water, though.

-/-

Krait did not go out of her way to re-establish herself in her guardian's good graces, but left him to come to terms with his own peevishness, certain that he would soon get over it. Instead of getting herself voluntary detentions she asked Madam Sprout for extra lessons.

"I have a good grounding in botany" she had explained to the small witch "But it will take me time to learn all the plants and their properties that are second nature to the others. Could I work in the greenhouses before school – I've seen you preparing plants for classes – and learn more?"

Professor Sprout was pleased by such application.

"Certainly, certainly!" she readily granted permission.

Krait was learning how to prune shrivelfig when Snape came in.

"Pomona, I know it's too early for Hellebore to flower, but I suppose there's no chance one is ahead of itself out of season? I'm right out…"

"I'm sorry, Severus, I don't even have any dried petals" Madam Sprout answered, fussing around by the Hellebores. "It's far too early even for the overenthusiastic ones."

Snape grunted, disappointed.

"Is it wrong to speed them up with a spell then?" asked Krait.

Snape swung round and stared at her, noticing her for the first time.

Madam Sprout began, "It's not that it's wrong, but…" Snape held up a hand, motioning the Herbology teacher to silence.

"Why not try it, Krait, and see if it's within your capabilities yet?" he asked softly.

Madam Sprout opened her mouth, and shut it again.

Krait got out her wand and concentrated on a Hellebore plant.

"_Vitissimus floribunde!_" she said, intently.

The plant quivered…..and flower heads uncoiled, bursting open into the waxen greenish-white flowers of the Christmas Rose.

"Excellent" Snape approved, almost a purr in his voice. "Your talents increase."

"Unbelievable!" cried Professor Sprout. "I never saw the like….but I shall certainly use that spell myself. Where did you hear it dear? So few people invent new spells for herbology…"

Krait shuffled.

"I suppose people don't see it as glamorous or something" she said. "To be remembered for a dark wizard-blasting spell is sexy, actually doing something useful isn't….I just kind of put it together on the fly."

"You made it up? Just like that?" Sprout was amazed.

"She comes up with these little surprises" said Snape a trifle acidly. "Just to keep the adults around her on their toes and to prevent us from stagnating no doubt….thank you both, I'll put these to good use."

Krait beamed at him cheerfully.

"But it's easier than just creating a flower" she said "Because you'd have to know all the properties of it to do it properly, same as if you transfigured one flower to another, if you weren't fully aware of all the properties of each, it would be an imperfect transformation and not as good."

Snape stared.

"You think you could create a flower? You think you could conjure a flower? Already?"

"I guess….but only if I made a new one up as I went along ….like, you look tired….one that had a perfume that was both relaxing and yet subtly invigorating…." Krait picked up a twig from the ground and wrapped a wisp of straw around it. That worked in fiction, she knew, and what did fiction draw on if not fact? She got out her wand, for a focus was necessary for so tricky a thing.

The twig shimmered; and a waft of perfume filled the greenhouse. Krait shyly tucked her flower, shimmering white and very simple with but four petals, into Snape's buttonhole.

"For you, Domine, because I do love you" she said softly.

Snape swallowed.

"I – Pomona, you must take seed from this lovely flower, don't let it be lost when it withers" he said softly. "It's not conjuration, but it's something so…."

"Absolutely!" Madam Sprout agreed. "I'm sure…" she touched the flower with her wand "Yes, it does have excellent properties!"

"I don't care if it has no properties at all" said Snape, almost savagely. "I like it…..what are you going to call it?" he asked Krait. The girl grinned mischievously.

"'Snape's head fritillary'?" she suggested facetiously. "What about 'Severia'?"

Snape looked at her quickly.

"Very well" he said. "Madam Sprout will help me preserve this Severia and grow seed from it….you can make a special study of it for her over the next year, and experiment in potions to see what properties it has too." He looked at Madam Sprout. "The girl makes light of difficult things and things nobody has ever tried…even beyond the sixth form studies of summoning known flowers…...and cannot get a pineapple to waltz without either legs or music. What do you do with her?"

-/-

Krait met Peeves for the first time shortly after that, on her way to a meal. He was a little man wearing outlandish and loud clothes including a hat covered in bells and an excruciatingly bright orange bow tie. He was floating in mid air and was plainly not a ghost because he appeared quite solid.

"OOH it's the ickle pwetty new girl" he said "Snapey's daaarling and that's a mixed blessing I bet! Hee hee, bet you have trouble with Draco Malfoy our sweet little mummy's pet!"

"Who in tarnation are you?" asked Krait.

"Me? I'm Peeves, and I'm here to cause trouble!" said Peeves, turning round to make faces at her through his legs before vanishing.

"Maybe I should have asked 'what are you'" said Krait, mildly to herself.

"Peeves is a poltergeist" it was Draco Malfoy who was behind her volunteering the information and looking sour at Peeves' description of himself. "He shouts insults and makes up lies about people. You can't get rid of him. Only the Bloody Baron can make him mind and talking to him is worse than putting up with Peeves."

"Meh, he's subject to spells, surely?" said Krait.

"Er, yes I think so" said Draco.

"Well I guess if he irritates me I shall have to come up with a curse that hangs his tongue on backward or something" said Krait cheerfully.

Draco muttered something about that being a cliché from almost anyone else.

Peeves was an oddity; and a possible irritant, but Krait was not about to let anything spoil her enjoyment of this new world she was in. Indeed, the opposite; she found every new and magical concept intriguing. It was amazing! There were things in this world that she had learned in her previous life were impossible.

It was perhaps then scarcely surprising that Krait did not actually stop to consider what was impossible and what was not in the light of so much demonstrable possibility!

-/-

Later that day, Krait had another class for the first time; which was Defence against the Dark Arts. She viewed Professor Moody's unusual appearance without qualm; his background had been explained to her, and she was shocked only that there were injuries that magic could not heal. Professor Snape had explained that wounds caused by curses were incurable since they were Dark Magic.

Like Professor McGonagall, Moody set the rest of the class a task, that of practising counter-curses, whilst he spoke to Krait.

"Constant vigilance!" he boomed. "Have you heard of any of the Unforgiveable curses, child?"

Krait nodded.

"All three" she said. "Imperius, Cruciatus and the Killing Curse."

"Never seen them in action, of course?"

She shook her head. Snape had not deemed it wise to attempt resisting the cruciatus curse yet. Moody nodded.

"I have three spiders here." He said, taking the first from a jar. "_Engorgio!"_ he enlarged it. With his wand pointed at it, it performed a series of actions unnatural to a spider, including gymnastics. "The Imperius curse" he said. "Shortly I will perform that on you, and you will attempt to resist." He put the spider back, and picked out another, enlarging it. "_Crucio!"_ he shouted. The spider twitched and writhed. The demonstration needed but bare seconds, in Krait's mind, if indeed it were necessary at all. She reached out angrily and attempted to divert the spell as she had stolen Snape's transfiguration back in the orphanage.

The pain was unbelievable. Every part of her body was exploding with agony; and she willed herself not to scream. She could only keep that up for so long, and she felt the scream erupt from herself. Then the pain was gone.

"Idiot girl, whatever were you trying to do?" growled Moody.

"You were holding it on the spider far longer than was necessary!" she managed to gasp. "That's cruelty to animals! If that's how you teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, you can keep it – I'm going to learn from Professor Snape!" she pulled herself to her feet, her senses reeling, and stared down her little nose before she marched firmly for the door. As she walked she felt a desire wash over her to return and sit down. She exerted every ounce of her will and pushed the desire to return from her thoughts.

"NO!" she said, turning, to see Moody with his wand pointed at her. She struggled to keep control. "Go to Hell!" she managed "Fuck you and the Dark Arts you rode in on!" and she slammed the door on her way out.


	9. Chapter 9

_That rude word mentioned again_

**Chapter 9:** clearly defined regions of doubt and uncertainty

It was Neville Longbottom who followed Krait out almost immediately. She was leaning against the wall in the corridor shaking and fighting against sobbing with anger.

"Are-are you all right?" he was almost crying and his face was pale. Krait nodded. Compared to him she was; that had really upset poor Neville.

"Stupid thing to do, I guess, to interfere with another wizard's spell" she said "But that poor spider… it wasn't right."

Neville nodded gravely.

"I – I thought I liked Professor Moody" he said "He – he talked to me about my parents. But – Day, he held that curse on you for six seconds after you took it, you went white, anyone could see, but he just watched you quizzically! Why?"

Krait pursed her lips.

"Why would anyone who did not use the leeway the Ministry granted all the aurors to use the curses suddenly start using them gleefully? He _enjoyed_ having power over that first spider, I swear it. Longbottom, you're a friend of Potter's, aren't you?"

Neville hesitated and nodded.

"You think he's not really Moody? He's someone in disguise?" he suggested.

"It's a pretty drastic disguise" said Krait. Neville shook his head.

"N-not with Polyjuice Potion!" he said excitedly. "I know Hermione brewed some once for Harry and Ron! If- if he's here to kill Harry…"

Krait nodded.

"If it's a potion, he's always swigging at that hip flask of his. We need a council of war. I'll talk to Professor Snape and see if he has missed any ingredients for this Polyjuice Potion." She smiled. "Thanks, Longbottom. It was well gutsy to follow me out."

"I – I said I needed the lavatory" he said apologetically. "I – I don't think I'd like to learn Defence from Snape. He doesn't like me and – and I'm scared of him." He added in a rush.

"Clever excuse about the loo!" said Krait. "Better go and make it true. Well, Uncle Severus doesn't go out of his way to win friends and influence people of course" she pulled a comical face "But then, he's scared of people I think – like I am. We hide it in aggressive."

"OH!" said Neville.

-/-

Snape was alone in his Potions Dungeon when she came in, it being a free period for him. He took one look at her face and pushed aside the book he was studying by a pile of ingredients.

"Krait?"

"Domine – I might just have got myself expelled" she said "But with Neville Longbottom's help I might also have a clue for you about who's trying to kill Potter. I feel terrible." She slumped down beside him and buried her face against his legs.

"You are not making any sense" he said irritably. "Has someone given you a babbling potion?"

She shook her head.

"He – Moody, or the man who looks like Moody – was showing me the Curses" she said. "I'll come to what I mean, don't interrupt please, my thoughts are all shook up right now anyway." He nodded as she looked up for reassurance and she went on, "After doing the Imperius curse on a spider he did the Cruciatus. You know how I feel about hurting animals; even if it were called for to show it, I felt he held it sadistically long. So I went to knock the spell like I did your transfiguration….and it diverted to me." Snape scowled. She added "Neville counted six seconds that he held it after he noticed…..either he has phenomenally bad reactions or he didn't care. And Neville said he was watching me quizzically; which tells it's own story, doesn't it? I screamed then, I think, and he stopped it. I – I told him that he could keep his class, that I'd learn from you. It was an arrogant assumption, I'm sorry. Then he put a spell to make me come back – I think it was the Imperius curse – and I told him to go to Hell and I said 'fuck you' to him too. So I guess I might get expelled."

Snape scowled.

"Not if he used the Imperius curse like that for discipline" he growled. "HE's more likely to get sacked. It doesn't sound like Moody at all. Is that what you meant?"

Krait nodded.

"He – it all sounds just a bit wrong. Neville suggested something called Polyjuice Potion, I've not read about it yet, but I thought if you were missing any ingredients…he has that hip flask."

Snape's eyes glittered. He reached into his buttonhole for the flower Krait had made for him.

"What you say makes sense…here, smell this…it will help you feel better" he said. Krait breathed in the perfume thankfully.

"Ah….that is better. ARE you missing ingredients?"

"Boomslang skin" he murmured. "And to think I was blaming Potter! Not that such is an unreasonable assumption, mind you; he and his cronies have stolen from my dungeon before now if I could but prove it. So! What do we do about it?"

"We could hit him over the head and you legilimens him?" Krait suggested hopefully. Snape gave a wolfish grin.

"Tempting, but not entirely practical…it would involve a lot of apologising if we're wrong." He said.

"In the spirit of constant vigilance?" suggested Krait.

He actually gave that half-laugh of his.

"It might work; the Headmaster might not be happy about it though" he said. Krait frowned in thought.

"How about…we make a replica flask, fill it with some kind of truth drug and use a switching spell to exchange them?" she suggested; having written a nine inch essay for Madam McGonagall she felt she understood switching spells, in principle at least.

Snape nodded.

"That's more like it" he said. "Are you any good with switching spells? Longbottom isn't, quite notoriously so….Minerva had to retrieve his ears from a cactus for him."

"Not brilliant yet….but Hermione Granger is. You're going to have to work with Harry, you know, and a joint effort might be handy."

He compressed his lips and looked mutinous.

"I do not like it."

Krait shrugged.

"Sometimes we have to do things we do not like. I will definitely NOT like you testing me with the Cruciatus curse, for you'll be holding it a deal longer than six seconds…. You'll just have to be unspeakably brave and be civil to Harry."

He shot her a look, which she returned gravely.

"Hardly in the same category" he said. She raised a thin shoulder in a shrug of impatience.

"Depends how much past there is with his father that so gets under your skin" she said. "Mental hurts are much worse than physical. That's only pain."

He pulled a face. The wretched girl had a habit of seeing too much.

"Maybe I'll tell you one day" he said.

That was an improvement, even if the maybe had sounded distinctly uncertain.

"Can you tell me why you ride Neville?" she asked. He snorted.

"I know fine well he has a brain in there! If I could only shock him out of his apathy…."

Krait touched his arm.

"By making him angry enough to react? It doesn't work with everyone. He's a scared little boy, scared of everything, and you just frighten him into a froth, so that he can't think and does worse than he ought to. I know – I know what it's like to have that knot of fear in your bowels, to be concentrating so hard on not soiling yourself that you just can't think of anything else. You can read it from my head if you like, if you've never been there yourself."

He looked at her.

"Oh I've been there myself" he said softly. "I see. Well, if riding him does nothing but that there's no point continuing with it. He can't be goaded."

"Not all people are as cussed, awkward, stubborn and plain downright bloody minded as thee and me" said Krait. "We refuse to lose. Neville…. I think something started him in the habit of losing at an early age."

"His parents – this is in confidence, Krait – were aurors. They were both broken by the cruciatus curse. They are insane; he probably was there as a baby, hearing their screams." Snape told her. "He has been apathetic ever since by the accounts of his grandmother. He has to have something to drag him out of it!"

"Different people, different methods. Revenge against Fishface might just do it, you know" she said. "If he has a cause…the rest of his class treat him like an embarrassment. I guess I'll try to get to know him better. He showed me a kindness, after all." She leaned against him. "I still feel a bit odd."

Snape unwound himself and rose from the stool he was sitting on.

"I'll see Professor Dumbledore about what happened between you and Moody" he said. "As your housemaster I shall set you a hundred lines 'I must not swear in class' to complete; punishment is then set, the affair over." He stooped and picked her up.

"I'm not an invalid, Domine" she protested half heartedly.

He deposited her on the settee in his office.

"You can be getting on with those lines" he told her. "I'll put your flower in a vase beside you."

-/-

Whatever passed between Snape and Dumbledore, Snape did not reveal to her; but she did overhear Snape challenge Moody to explain himself.

"Using the Cruciatus curse, just because the girl is my ward and a Slytherin and a natural rival to your precious pet, Potter!" Snape yelled.

"How was I to know she'd pulled the curse onto herself?" Moody growled in return. "I didn't realise until she screamed. Silly girl should have yelled earlier. Shouldn't even be possible for a chit that young."

Severus Snape's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He had made no mention that Moody had held the spell. It was proof that he HAD noticed before she screamed.

"She hates cruelty to animals. Prefers cruelty to Gryffindors" he said. "I consider you negligent in this, Moody. I shall continue her education myself. I am more than qualified."

"Make sure that's education in Defence against the Dark Arts – not the Dark Arts themselves, Severus" grunted Moody.

"After that last class of yours, it looks as though YOU are starting to lose your grip on the difference" said Snape silkily. "Just because so many Deatheaters are drawn from Slytherin House your paranoia is starting to cross the line in seeing Deatheaters in anyone with Slytherin green in their uniform!"

-/-

Krait was lurking, waiting for him as he made an exit.

"Nice" she commented. "That should lull any suspicions he has of being suspected as we suspect him."

"It was the general idea" he smiled thinly. "I rather liked it myself. Did you notice his slip?"

She nodded emphatically.

"Unless any of the class pointed out how long he held it. Which I doubt. I'll go tell Harry and co what's happening. Do you have a truth drug to hand?"

He nodded.

"Veritaserum. Its use is normally proscribed without permission….so we shan't tell anyone."

Krait chuckled.

"NOW who's ignoring the rules that don't suit him?"

He snorted.

"Never mind that…we had better give you a grounding on such Defence against the Dark Arts as you have missed…do you know what distinguishes a Dark Creature from a dangerous creature?"

"Intent" she said. "At a guess. Dark implies an awareness of evil, does it not?"

He nodded, pleased that she had divined the heart of it.

"Yes. A tiger will eat you because it is hungry; a female of any species will attack to protect her young and so on. Dark Creatures enjoy fear and or pain. Most you can read about. The one thing you need to learn to counter is a boggart. Boggarts can read your innermost fears and take the form of them, feeding on your terror and distress. The counter spell is the spell '_Ridikulus'_ that requires you to force the form you fear to do something that makes you laugh. Boggarts are inclined to turn up spontaneously. For muggles the only way to deal with a boggart infested house is to move; and they don't even know why they have nightmares and feel uneasy in the dark. Boggarts prefer the dark, and confined spaces."

"Are they at all like poltergeists? Like Peeves?"

"Poltergeists are attracted to adolescents…. I suppose it suits their puerile sense of humour. Poltergeists are not dark creatures, just annoying ones. I use the spell _Langlock_ on Peeves, to stick his tongue to the roof of his mouth….it seems to deter him from haranguing me too much."

"Oh, thank you! I'll remember that. And _Ridikulus_ for Boggarts."

"Are you ready to try to defeat a Boggart?" he asked.

Krait nodded and got her wand out.

Snape opened a cupboard and out hurled a nun, sister Agatha, Krait's greatest fear; and beyond her a poky cupboard that smelled of fear. Krait gulped.

"_RIDIKULUS!"_ she shouted, pointing her wand. Sister Agatha began to dance, a wild can-can, revealing fishnet stockings and scarlet bloomers. She flapped her arms which became feathered like wings and her long nose became a beak from which she emitted raucous caws.

"Good." Said Snape. "Force her back into the cupboard."

It was the illusory cupboard to which Krait started to drive her, not the one that she had come from.

"MY cupboard" said Snape testily.

"Sorry…" Krait corrected her error. Snape shut the door on the boggart.

"A fair effort…if you see something you fear, a nun, where there should not be one, it is probably a boggart. You must learn not to panic so that you can act quickly and decisively."

Krait nodded.

"Fear is the little death of reason…it is good to learn to control it anyway, even if the reason to fear is valid. Thank you. Do you see what I do, or your greatest fear?"

"There is a spell that allows me to see what you see…. It makes teaching easier to discuss strategies of dealing with your fear. My greatest fear is superimposed, but I can ignore it….We will proceed when you have read more…I suggest you write me a brief essay on werewolves and one on redcaps. They are the two creatures you are more likely to meet than any other." She nodded and left as he waved dismissal.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:** An Unwary Alliance

Neville had filled in Harry and Hermione and a sulky Ron Weasley and persuaded them to meet outside. Hermione nodded to Krait.

"I like the deductions you and Neville made. They fit the facts" she said in a determined little voice. Krait smiled at her warmly.

"What a generous person you are, Hermione! I'd be chewing on my liver to have missed that conversation!"

Hermione looked shamefaced.

"Well…I guess I am rather" she admitted.

"Then the more kudos to you for your generosity and honesty" said Krait. "I spoke to Professor Snape…he's also started a private little war with our false Moody to allay any thoughts the creep might have that we're suspicious of him."

"Private wars are a hobby of his" said Harry.

"Yeah, useful reputation to have right now" said Krait equably. "He approved a suggestion I made – he regretfully quashed the first one of hitting Moody over the head and reading his mind – but he's got a truth drug. If I can copy the hip flask we can put the truth drug in it, and you, Hermione, do a switching spell to swap them and instead of polyjuice potion he gets truth serum."

Hermione flushed, pleased.

"I am GOOD at switching charms" she said.

"Exactly" said Krait. "we have a good team. Neville is a good observer, Harry has wide skills, Ron, your father rescued Moody from burglars. Do you think that he'd already done the swap, and used your dad because he's famously full of integrity?"

Ron made several strangled noises, unwilling to be admitting he was wrong about Harry, and unwilling to work with a Slytherin. Finally he managed a rather sceptical,

"It's possible I suppose"

Krait nodded.

"With the first task tomorrow I doubt we'll have time to prepare; and I'm not sure that we can overcome that ridiculous magical contract even if it's proved you were set up, I'm really sorry. Professor Snape is trying to find a legal loophole but he hasn't yet."

"Why? Why does he care?"

Krait snorted.

"Because when all is said and done you are the prophesy; and he really wants to win. Who in their right mind wants Fishface in charge?

"We don't even know You-know-who is going to return" said Ron.

"Harry's scar throbs, doesn't it?" said Krait. "My blood is whispering to me. The skull and sea-sick sea serpent on the Deatheaters is visible – and throbbing."

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked sharply.

"I get about" said Krait. "And I listen at keyholes. I'm not a very nice person, do please try to remember this. I'm a sociopath. It says so on my school records."

"Rubbish!" said Hermione.

"It's dragons" said Harry, dully. He added, as they stared at him blankly for this apparent non-sequitor, "The first task is dragons. Hermione tried to help me find a way to deal with them, but the best advice I had came from Moody. How then can he be wanting to kill me?"

Krait stared.

"Maybe he needs you to get far enough in the competition to do something specific" she said. "You have Fishface's powers stuck inside your head, at least the Parseltongue bit. Perhaps something in the competition will give him the opportunity to wrest them back. How should I know? But we have to test the theory. If he is who he says he is, we apologise and claim creative paranoia. That ought even to please him – if he is the real him. But he gave himself away in conversation – argument rather – with my Domine." Quickly she filled them in on Moody's slip. Even Ron seemed somewhat impressed by that. They broke up the meeting, for Harry needed an early night.

-/-

Krait would not have minded an early night herself and thus was not pleased to be buttonholed by the disorganised figure of Madam Trelawney. The Seeress had heard tales in the staffroom of the new girl's extraordinary abilities and wanted some reflected glory for herself; and had managed to convince herself that the girl was a natural seer.

"My dear girl….they tell me that you were never even offered Divination as an elective!" she cried. "I can't see how it can have been overlooked….you are so plainly a Virgo, a September baby, full of introspection, order and talent!"

"I was born in February" said Krait biting back a rather more withering retort "I neither know nor care what sign I was supposedly born under, I have to tell you that I hold the same opinion of Divination as my guardian, Professor Snape, that it would prove of no use to me; and indeed he promised me that if I had anything to do with it I should be cut up and fed to flobberworms as I should therefore prove more useful to the community."

"My DEAR!" Trelawney was shocked. "Surely Professor Snape would not be so – so cruel as to threaten such! He doesn't mean it!"

"I'd rather not risk that" said Krait. "Besides, I don't want to study Divination, I have better things to do with my time. It is too inexact to appeal to me. Like I said, I concur with Professor Snape's view."

"Did he really say it was a waste of your time?" Trelawney asked.

Krait considered. This old fool was too thick skinned to be fobbed off easily.

"Not exactly no" she said. Trelawney started to smile, and Krait went on "What he said was a deal less complimentary, but then I am the soul of tact and Professor Snape is not; and I can't remember all the words he used anyway" she added mournfully. "Unwholesome concatenation of fiction and fantasy were amongst some of the least scatological of his comments as I recall…I did TRY to be tactful" she added as Trelawney spluttered "Only you seemed to want to know….shouldn't a seer know these things without asking?" she asked, with seeming innocence, opening her big violet eyes wide.

-/-/-/-

Krait found it easy to get a seat next to Snape to observe the competition. It seemed not to be a popular position even amongst his own Slytherin pupils. Krait smiled a gentle smile to herself over his habits of pushing people away. It only worked if people let themselves be pushed away. She managed to touch his hand. It was cold.

"Moody gave him good advice, apparently" she murmured. "WHAT is he up to?"

"A whole lot of no good" Snape growled.

"You are bothered, you're not even bothering to be wordy" said Krait. He snorted by way of reply; and she grinned at him, scorning the nervous looks from some of the other Slytherin.

"Trelawney was howling for your blood and mine" he said suddenly. She shrugged.

"I started fairly tactful….she got up my nose so I quoted you. And I was mildly mendacious….I said you threatened to feed me to flobberworms if I took Divination. You would though, wouldn't you?" she grinned.

He looked down his nose.

"My ward told a lie? Insupportable!" he said. "Krait, if you ever take Divination, I shall feed you to the Flobberworms….it is now a lie no longer. You are right though" he added "Being heavily disguised as flobberworm faeces would be an infinitely less terrible thing than wasting your time and talents on fuzzy studies."

-/-

Cedric Diggory was the first champion; Krait cheered him politely with everyone else, as he was the official school champion. The task was announced; to get the golden egg from amongst the nest of a nesting mother.

"Dear God, they're big!" muttered Krait.

The competition was frightening. Krait willed each and every contestant to do well and come out safe; Cedric, the pretty French girl Fleur Delacourt and Viktor Krumm. Several of the other Slytherins hooted and booed as Harry came out.

"Oh very well done!" said Krait, scornfully. "How clever, and with your ickle pretty badges – showing a divided front to those foreigners. Such brains to let them think that we are so weak at Hogwarts!"

"Quite" Snape added his voice to hers. "Day is correct. Please lose the badges, Malfoy. We do not wish Durmstrang to sense any of our little weaknesses."

Malfoy muttered but the badges saying 'Potter Stinks' promptly disappeared. Malfoy led polite applause with half an eye on his House Master.

"Much better" said Snape.

When Harry called

"_Accio firebolt"_ and showed how he could fly, Krait breathed a sigh of relief. If that was Moody's advice it looked as though he wanted Harry's death postponed. Harry flew like one possessed, and Krait sighed with relief when he grabbed the golden egg and was able to leave the arena. A glance across at the Gryffindors showed relief on Ron's face too; with luck he and Harry would make up now. Then all there was to do was to delve into Draco's psyche and unite Snape and Harry. Then there would be a really good team….

"Stupid competition anyway" Krait muttered. "Dragons? For schoolkids? Ludicrous. Insanity!" she made her way down towards the medical tent muttering to herself. Harry and Ron were there, Harry being treated by a snippy looking Madam Pomfrey. Hagrid was bubbling happily, Moody was smiling and even Madam MacGonagall looked pleased with Harry. Moody glanced at Krait and ignored her, continuing to speak to Harry.

"Nice job, Harry" said Krait. "Beats a bicycle I guess if you must get involved in so stupid a task. Whoever devised this competition was three parts drunk and four parts insane."

"I'll drink to that" agreed Madam Pomfrey with feeling. "Dragons! I ask you!"

"It is traditional" said McGonagall.

Krait snorted.

"With all due respect, so is the country, er, sport, of putting ferrets down the trousers. That doesn't make it a good idea. It is a truly demented display of imbecility devised by the certifiable to entertain the moronic."

McGonagall was heard to mutter something about 'the girl even starting to sound like Snape'.

Krait accepted that as a compliment. And told him so later, after repeating what she had said.

Snape gave his almost lupine grin.

"Ah, dear Minerva" he murmured. "So glad she appreciates me." he glanced at Krait. "I doubt if it were meant as a compliment, I'm afraid, even though I couldn't have put it better myself."

Krait gurgled with mirth.

"But to me, it WAS a compliment" she said "And thank you for yours!"

"Mine was intended as such" he said dryly. "Especially as the views you so succinctly expressed reflect mine."

Krait nodded more soberly.

"It wastes lesson time; it interferes with the state of mind of the Champions, which must needs have a detrimental effect on their academic performance; it's dangerous; and we're knee deep in foreigners using our library and poking around in corners like Kreepy Karkaroff."

"He used to be a Death Eater" Snape said "But he turned coat to save his own skin. When Fishface returns he won't be able to run fast enough." His voice dripped with scorn.

"Hmm, something to use!" said Krait happily. "Domine, am I weird or something? All the other cackling goslings seem to think it exciting and marvellous, even Hermione seems proud that Harry did well, and eager to help him with the next task, and Harry seems to feel it behoves him to do his best. Me, I'd turn up if I'd been magically contracted against my choice and sit down and cross my arms and make the dragon handlers deal with the beast."

"Weird, no. Abnormal, yes" he said. "Common sense is NOT after all a common commodity. You may talk too much at times, but at least I could never describe you as a chattering fool." He pulled a wry face. "I never thought I should ever say this of a pupil but you do have sense."

"Did that hurt a lot?" asked Krait with pseudo sympathy.

"Excruciatingly" he replied.

-/-

Krait took the opportunity to transfigure a plain flask that Snape found her into an exact replica of Moody's, with input from Neville, who had observed it closely.

"You are good at detail" said Krait. "If you only put that into Potions, you'd be rather good at it."

"But I panic" said Neville.

"I found out why he rides you" said Krait. "He wanted to shock you into being angry and perform to what he believes is your true ability. It wasn't the right way to go about it, but I guess if it's worked before he felt he had to try it – and habit gets hard to break, doesn't it? He – he told me about your parents and why you find yourself struggling through a mental sludge of horror all the time."

"Oh" Neville changed colour several times. "So he was trying to help? But that doesn't sound like Snape."

"He finds it hard to relate to people, I told you. And he goes on the defensive by attacking first. Think! He knows you're intelligent, it must be frustrating for a teacher not to see you reach your full potential, especially when half the rest of the class are as thick as slurry – and some of them, like Crabbe and Goyle make slurry look like it has a Masters degree – and are a menace to the public if let loose with cauldrons."

"I'm a menace to the public with a cauldron" said Neville dismally, who had no idea what a Masters degree was but did not much care.

"Only because you panic!" said Krait forcefully. "You're going to sit beside me from now on and I'll stop you and make you calm down if you start to panic, deal?"

Neville nodded.

"Y-you're awfully nice to me" he said.

"You're nice. You came out after me after… shucks, forget it." Krait looked down her nose. "I'm not nice, I'm cold blooded and vindictive. How many times do I have to tell you people that?"

Neville laughed.

"Until Hell freezes over, 'cos I don't believe it."

-/-

Hermione examined the flask.

"Looks pretty good" she said "I can't tell the difference. What about taste, though? Won't he know the minute he drinks?"

"Hopefully not" said Krait. "Domine says that it stinks of whisky, so he mixed the veritaserum with whisky and made a concoction with the illusory taste of Polyjuice potion to add to it. I guess the whisky doesn't mask all of it 'cos it stank vile."

"It tastes vile" said Harry and Ron with one deeply feeling voice.

"Veritaserum? Isn't that illegal without ministry consent?" asked Hermione dubiously.

"Don't start quibbling now" growled Krait. "If Domine thinks it important enough to break all the rules, you should make a fuss why?"

"Well…."

"Why do you call him that?" asked Harry, curiously.

"Because he flatly refused to let me call him 'Uncle Severus' – and I can see why, being uncle anything is dreadfully ageing - and just Severus seemed a little disrespectful, but I wanted something that was all mine. And Domine translates as master or teacher, so it seemed appropriate,"

Hermione sniffed.

"It sounds a little servile to me. I bet he likes that! His idea, I suppose?"

"No, mine actually. And if I like it and he lives with it then it's nobody else's business what I call him." She put her chin up defiantly.

"I only asked" said Harry.

"I only answered" said Krait. "Look, you don't have to like him, just to recognise that we're all on the same side."

"The question is, are we?" said Harry. "Sometimes with Snape I wonder."

"He has to keep playing the game, you idiot" said Krait impatiently "In case anyone with sympathy to Fishface are watching. You probably aren't aware, but he spent the last wizard war undercover, spying on Fishface, and if it hasn't improved his disposition any, well, I guess anyone ought to see why."

Harry swallowed. This was a revelation; and his friends looked equally stunned.

"What if he were a double agent?" asked Harry.

"I guess," said Hermione, "He's had ample opportunities to kill you, and make it look like an accident, nothing so melodramatic as this Triwizard business. And he's saved you a couple of times. I think we have to trust him – even if he is obnoxious."

"Quite so" said Krait. "It's the charming smarmers I distrust – and look how Moody is all friendly to Harry. Anyone who really had his interests at heart would hold more aloof so as not to get him dubbed teacher's pet. Except Hagrid, who's just well friendly and a law unto himself. If Domine were an agent for Fishface you can bet he'd make an effort to, well, seem fairer even if he felt fouler, if I may mangle Tolkein."

"He's scarcely Aragorn" said Hermione, who was better read than the boys.

"Yeah, but he's no Saruman either" Krait said. "If we stick with the analogy he's closest to Boromir; who was tempted and fell; and then turned away from darkness to protect the hobbits; and died for them. And working under cover takes guts, if I may remind you of that fact. Especially for a vindictive little zit like my dear daddy." Harry had told the others about Krait's parentage so she got a murmur of assent over that. She added "Let's do it before breakfast; he swigs just before he eats. That ought to do it."

_credit to JRR Tolkein 'Lord of the Rings' which is IMHO the best book ever written and one of the few where [in the director's cut] I approve of 99% of what was done in the film. _


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: ** Some Interesting Revelations

Harry smiled at Moody on the way into breakfast in the expectation that the Defense against Dark Arts teacher would speak to him and ask him how he was getting on solving the puzzle of the second task; which indeed he did. Harry did not have to simulate embarrassed confusion, since the cacophony of noise from the egg had bewildered him and terrified Neville into thinking someone was being tortured with the cruciatus curse. Hermione made the switch without difficulty and gave Krait a 'thumb's up'. Krait nodded to Snape, whose eyes gleamed with anticipation; he sat down beside Moody at the staff table.

Moody gave him a suspicious look.

"Professor Dumbledore does like a united front before the pupils" said Snape blandly. "Pumpkin juice?"

"I prefer my own, thank you" growled Moody suspiciously. "I know what's in it."

"As you wish" said Snape coldly. "I'm sure we all appreciate your imputations." Inside of course he was quite gleeful. Moody swigged at his flask; this was the moment of danger. Severus Snape held his breath. Had he got the mix right? Would it fool Moody?

It certainly seemed to do so. No consternation or suspicion flickered on the scarred face. Severus made himself look away, not peer hopefully into the ravaged visage for signs of change.

Krait too schooled herself not to peer; but with the Gryffindors she could not resist the odd peek. From their school tables glancing at the high staff table would be less noticeable anyway.

It took most of breakfast; some of the pupils had finished and hustled away to finish preparation for classes. But Moody's face at last was changing, and changing fast. The scars were disappearing, the skin smooth, the nose shrinking but becoming whole again. The long hair shortened, and there was a loud _clunk!_ As the wooden leg fell away. Snape reached out a hand and deftly caught the magical eye as it fell from the socket, to be replaced by a whole eye. The man at the table was pale skinned and freckled with a mop of sandy blonde hair. The other teachers were staring, open mouthed.

"Barty Crouch" said Severus in a soft, dangerous voice. "Supposed to have died in Azkaban. Now, Barty, suppose you tell me all about it?"

Harry and the others had risen; and Krait joined them in approaching the staff table.

"Good Heavens!" Said Professor McGonagall.

"Veritaserum, Severus?" said Dumbledore

"Should be working just nicely by now" said Snape in a satisfied tone. "How DID you escape, Barty?"

Crouch explained in a flat sing song voice.

"Dementors are blind. My mother was dying; and my parents came to visit. She used polyjuice potion to replace me…" he explained how his mother had continued to take the potion, until she died in Azkaban and his father had kept him under the Imperius curse, staging his 'mother's' funeral. Bertha Jorkins from the ministry had heard him talking; and when by chance she was seized and tortured by Voldemort, it overcame the Memory Charm Barty Crouch senior had set on her. Meanwhile, the house elf Winky had persuaded the elder Crouch to let his son go to the Quidditch World cup in his invisibility cloak; it had been he who had stolen Harry's wand to send up the Dark Mark. When Voldemort had arrived in his servant Wormtail's arms he had placed the senior Barty Crouch under the Imperius curse and freed Barty junior – to do the task of helping Harry Potter through the Triwizard Competition.

"Potter was to win it" he said dreamily "And the cup was to be made into a Portkey, since the winner was required to grasp it to claim it. That would take him directly to my Master where he could use the boy's blood to restore himself. Wormtail helped me subdue the real Moody, he'd prepared Polyjuice Potion in advance. Moody put up a struggle, but we subdued him and forced him into his own magical trunk before Arthur Weasley got there."

The young conspirators looked at each other; and with one accord belted off towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

-/-

Hermione stared at the trunk with its seven locks.

"If it's magical, I doubt _alohamora_ will work" she said doubtfully.

"I snitched his keys" said Krait, practically. "No point having larcenous instincts if you don't use them."

Each time they opened a different lock, the trunk appeared to contain something different; but it was the seventh that revealed what they sought. This opened not a trunk, but a compartment of wizarding space, a kind of pit, where lay an emaciated Moody, bereft of eye or leg, unconscious or asleep and with great chunks of his grey hair missing.

"They needed him alive for the hair of course" said Hermione clinically. "What are you boys waiting for? Climb in and get him out, we need to get him to Madam Pomfrey right away."

Harry, Ron and Neville obediently started to do her bidding; Krait mimed a Nazi salute behind Hermione's back. Harry developed a sudden cough.

-/-

Dumbledore strode in as they lifted him out, and as Krait was chafing his cold hands and muttering

"_Caldio_" to herself to warm him. The headmaster nodded approval.

"Good improvisation, Miss Day. I see he is stunned, and presumably under the Imperius curse" he said. "But I think in no immediate danger. Minerva, take him to Madam Pomfrey."

Madam McGonagall, who had followed him in, nodded and lifted Moody's unconscious body with a spell, walking with it almost as though he were on a muggle gurney. Dumbledore looked at the youngsters.

"Well?" he asked.

"We suspected him" said Krait. "He enjoyed using the Unforgivable curses. We devised a scheme to show him up if he was the impostor we thought him to be, and if he wasn't we could always apologise and mutter things about constant vigilance."

Dumbledore's mouth twitched.

"And you involved Professor Snape in your scheme? You surprise, but delight, me."

"We needed a top flight potioneer, sir" said Harry. "And Professor Snape believed our suspicions so…" he tailed off. Dumbledore looked at Krait.

"He trusts me" she said simply. "I – I know what he did last time. There won't be a next time, because the Ministry has to do something about Fishface now, but I had intended to help."

"Very commendable. I certainly HOPE the Ministry will take notice" said Professor Dumbledore. "I have sent for Mr Fudge the Prime Minister. He should be here soon." He looked around them. "The five of you had better get along to your classes."

They nodded obediently and went, the boys reluctantly to Divination, Hermione and Krait eagerly to Arithmancy. They lost House points for tardiness; for few enough people even realised totally what had been happening. Hermione and Krait explained they had been helping when Professor Moody took ill and lost fewer points because of it; and that was the official story that went round. The young conspirators had shielded Crouch's transformation from such of the school that had not left the dining tables and Dumbledore was in no wise willing to draw attention to the event as yet.

-/-/-

Snape summoned them all to his office after school. Krait was the only one to go cheerfully; and Neville at least quailed to see Snape's eyes glittering with bitter malice.

"The Ministry in its infinite lack of wisdom" he said in a hard biting voice "Has decided that Barty Crouch Junior was insane; and acting under his own volition, believing in a fantasy of Lord Voldemort being still alive. Fudge brought a dementor with him; its kiss has nullified Crouch's testimony, even if that blithering idiot was willing to listen or rather to hear properly what was said anyway."

"But…there's other evidence!" cried Harry. "My scar!"

"Mine too" said Snape, bitterly. "I told him, but he didn't want to listen. He is a fool and we are all in deadly danger because of it. We have no choice. We have to fight in the best way we can." His eyes were cold as obsidian shards.

"He has returned before" said Krait "That means he has some way of preserving his essence or soul or whatever regardless of what happens to his body. Killing the form he is in, that needed to be 'carried' becomes, therefore, meaningless. Am I correct, Domine?"

"Yes" said Snape. "And he has boasted to his Deatheaters that he has the secret of immortality."

Krait clenched her fists and swallowed dry.

"Then" she said reluctantly "We need to find out his secret; and use that to destroy him. And the only way to do that is to take him what he wants; and to re-establish yourself in his service and introduce me. As an extra gift."

"NO!" yelled Ron. "You CAN'T take him Harry!"

"Listen to what she says not what you think she says!" Snape snapped. "He wanted Potter's BLOOD to restore himself. Your plan is better than my initial idea, which was merely to seek him out and offer him my services; Professor Dumbledore approved that. I – I get the impression that he would not be displeased for Potter's blood to be used. I am not sure why; but if there is anyone who understands all the precise implications of the old magics it is Professor Dumbledore."

"Old Magic?" Harry queried.

"Those involving blood, which are very powerful. Especially a willing sacrifice. I suspect" Snape's eyes gleamed "If you gave willingly of your blood, Potter for OUR cause it would ultimately cause more harm to Fishface."

"Amen to that" growled Krait. "Let's agree to that – but we need to know where the creep is."

"Crouch told us that" said Snape. "In Little Hangleton, his father's decaying mansion. Harry was to be transported to the graveyard there. I suspect ancestral bone would play a large part in such a ritual; the blood of his foe and blood or flesh sacrificed willingly." He paused. "He may ask for a sacrifice from you, Krait as flesh of his flesh."

Krait pulled a face

"The part I'm to play as a mercenary bitch would baulk. It would not be unreasonable so to do. That we'll have to play by ear. I'd better read up about old magic."

"I have some books in my house. There are none in the school Library" said Snape. "If there ever were, the Headmaster has removed them. The knowledge taught to NEWT level is but a fraction of the knowledge there is; though few bother to progress further. Some of the knowledge is hard-gained and dangerous; and those who seek knowledge for power usually doom themselves to destroy themselves by the very power that, in their hubris, they desire to harness. I – I love knowledge for its own sake; and I have an eclectic library in my house."

"Then we must visit…it is reasonable to suppose you could not come to seek him before the holidays anyway. And he was not expecting the ceremony until next summer at the end of the competition. If Crouch's death is hushed up he will just be waiting" said Krait prosaically. "I want Jade and Lydia out of the orphanage before we do this, Domine; at least then they'll be safe no matter what happens to us."

"Who are Jade and Lydia?" Hermione demanded. Krait explained succinctly and graphically; tears springing to her eyes at the thought of the children she had protected being without her. They gazed in horror as she described the harsh punishments; and at a nod from her guardian showed the others her back.

They gasped in horror.

"Used to it" said Krait laconically. "Kiddies didn't ought to get used to it…..you lot will rally round and help me take care of them, won't you?" she swiped the back of her hand angrily across her eyes. Krait scorned to cry for herself; but her fears for Jade and Lydia broke through her self control.

The others nodded, appalled.

"Dobby will help see to their physical needs, I'm sure, if I ask" said Harry. "That'd help, wouldn't it?"

Krait nodded.

"Tremendously" she said. "Meantime, we've a lot of preparation to do."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: **legilimensy

The Daily Prophet soon carried a news story that Barty Crouch of the Ministry of magic had committed suicide in his own home. He was reported to have been in ill health and depressed for an unknown reason. No mention was made of his son

"And if he committed suicide or if Wormtail murdered him we don't know" commented Ron. "Could be either."

"If Wormtail murdered him, they know his son is dead" said Krait "But I wager a man of his supposed abilities – unpleasant temperament aside – broke free enough of the Imperius curse to recognise the shame of what had happened. He seems to have been a pompous little man that couldn't live with it."

Harry nodded.

"I think you're right – having met him. He was awfully arrogant, but I could see him going badly to pieces if things fell down about him."

"Newspapers, as always, tell half the truth about things they half understand" Krait said sagely.

**-/-**

Snape's fury over the Ministry decision – or rather, Fudge's decision – was apparent in his general lack of good humour. Knowing that the refusal of Cornelius Fudge to accept the truth of what was under his very nose would mean considerable danger not only to himself but to the ward of whom he had become more fond than he cared to admit, even to himself, made Snape more susceptible to bad moods than usual. The fourth years overheard the result of him being, as Krait put it, 'bad-tempereder' as he verbally excoriated some unfortunate fifth former whilst the younger class waited for their potions lesson.

"What you laughingly refer to as your mind appears to fester feculently in a turgid morass of diathetic detritus. Your thought processes, sluggish as they are, seem to be more akin to the diagenesis that in most people occurs in the kidneys!" Snape's voice was low but quite clear.

"He's on good form" mused Krait, outside the door. "He must be well pissed off to loose off such a barrage of vocabulary at his hapless victim."

The said hapless victim stumbled sobbing out of the potions dungeon with her friends in comforting attendance, all looking a trifle shocked. The fourth filed in, and for the most part took their places in wary silence. Krait sat as always at the front and smiled at her guardian.

"That sounded a trifle, well, HARSH" she ventured.

He glared.

"Whilst the Draught of Peace is a tricky potion, I swear even Potter could not manage to brew it to smell more like the dogs of war!" he growled. "Don't start, Miss Day, I am not in the mood for your dicacity."

"Nice word" Krait muttered to herself. "I must look it up."

He gave her a fulminating look. She smiled blithely.

He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. It was getting harder to be angry with her….

**-/-**

Peeves sensed the strain amongst Harry and his friends and taunted Harry about not even being able to open an egg. Harry gritted his teeth and tried to ignore him.

"Potty can't open an egg! What a great YOLK that is!" punned the poltergeist.

Krait tested the _Langlock_ spell with great efficacy, and proceeded to teach it to the others. They were impressed and amazed that Snape had volunteered information that was actually useful!

Peeves mumbled incomprehensively, purple with effort. It may have been threats; but Krait did not care. Harry was under enough strain without minor irritations like Peeves.

**-/-**

The other unnecessary irritation was the reporter Rita Skeeter, who was like a gadfly, Krait reflected. And when she started hanging around asking questions of Hagrid about his repellent Blast-ended Skrewts, warning bells rang. Krait loathed the Skrewts with a passion; but she rather liked Hagrid. Skeeter was trying to get information from Hermione about them, and she and Harry were floundering somewhat. Krait had a feeling that there was something definitely less than legal about Hagrid's pets.

"It's so clever of Professor Hagrid, isn't it?" she said, sweetly, butting into the conversation. "Using transfigured pet

dogs to give us a taste of how to deal with potentially unexpected and dangerous creatures. Don't you agree, Harry?"

"Uh – yes" said Harry. Hagrid opened his mouth to refute Krait's claim, and Hermione shook her head at him. Harry added, "It gives us a taste of danger but of course if there was any serious problem he could just turn them back."

"Indeed?" Rita Skeeter asked. "I'd like to see that for myself."

"Oh the reversing charm is quite simple" said Krait airily, flicking her wand at a screwt, and concentrating on the mindset of 'dog' as well as its shape. A yapping Pekinese appeared in the screwt's place, and promptly pee'd up against Rita Skeeter's leg as Krait used such as she had learned already to suggest to it that its bladder was full. The reporter's eyes became rather glazed and her smile a trifle fixed.

"Er, quite. Dear little doggie" she said, bending to stroke it. It growled and snapped at her fingers.

"Of course, Professor Hagrid chose Pekes for their aggressive natures. They used to be used to guard temples in the far East, you know" said Krait brightly. "Do you think you ought to go and change? Your robes really smell, you know. Excuse us, that was the bell!"

"Nice" said Hermione as they headed back for the school. "I bet she was going to interview Hagrid and get all sorts of embarrassing things out of him, like him being half giant."

"So what?" asked Krait. "Do people care? I thought it was degree of muggleness most people seemed to create over."

"Alas, no" said Hermione. "There's an awful lot of racism in the wizarding world."

"Comforting in a way" commented Krait.

"WHAT?" said Harry

"To know that my view of people in general as nasty, narrow minded bigoted fools holds true in all walks of life – even the wizarding world. And you wonder why Domine and I don't like people?"

-/-

She repeated the view to her guardian later when she reported for legilimency.

"Hagrid is naïve, trusting, not too bright and quite inclined to put his outsize feet in things at bad moments" said Snape. "We do not get on. But that is immaterial."

"I like Hagrid" said Krait. "Between finding him a little irritating at times. Shall we start?"

Snape nodded.

"We should get some things clear, though. Last attempt I perceived that you were thinking in terms of 'mind reading'. It is a very mugglish concept; the mind is not like a book to be read. The mind is a complex, many layered thing. The skilled legilimens needs to not only look into the mind of another but to interpret what he finds…The Dark Lord, Fishface, is particularly skilled at detecting lies from those to whom he is speaking. You must learn to shut down the feelings and memories that contradict any such lie so that you can seem quite honest to him. Are you ready?"

Krait nodded and braced herself.

"_Legilimens!"_

Krait was standing in the yard outside the orphanage, she was six years old, cold, wet, and rather light headed, not daring to beg to be allowed back in…

"No" she said firmly and calmly. She pushed away from the memory, firmly picturing clear blue skies, the skies above Hogwarts on the decreasing fine days.

"Good" Snape said. "Yet another of their creative punishments?"

Krait nodded.

"I ended up in hospital with bronchitis…they told the doctors I had run away to be stubborn, that it was my fault I was outside" she said in resentment. "I guess that's why I don't much like flying practice. It hurts me to breathe going fast."

Snape's eyes glittered.

"We will visit St Mungo's hospital and have THAT sorted out" he said. "No wonder you are so frail! You are tired from just that, you paled."

"I have a stronger will than body" she said. "It's something else to bear in mind though – if they can fix my lungs, which will also mean I shan't catch so many winter bugs, I could run every morning to build up my stamina." She grinned. "I'm up way before anyone else anyway. Would – would you like to join me?"

He blinked.

"Physical stamina to build up the strength to sustain spells? No-one has ever suggested it before…it might well work though. It can do no harm to try. To add stamina to your strength would give you a great resistance – if it works." He nodded. "Again."

She was barely prepared when he said

"_legilimens!"_

She was in the grip of the big boy, his cronies backing him up as he reached for her shirt 'snotty little orphanage brat..you can't refuse me..'; she was fighting back, pushing.

The little boy sobbed quietly whilst the big man shouted at his mother…the boy of about ten spoke eagerly to a red-haired girl about Hogwarts and got angry and upset when the girl's sister was spying on them….the teenage boy cringed at being the butt of some joke involving his broom's handling spells and the now older red-haired girl hid laughter as well as looking concerned as he fell off the broom that had a mind of its own… the boy that looked startlingly like Harry and his dark haired friend referred to him as Snivellus, turned him upside-down with a spell and taunted him – what an arrogant creep this Potter was! The red haired girl shouted at Potter, but the wash of shame at being defended by the beautiful Lily made him act contrary yet again, to call her a mudblood…

Krait jerked back her mind. Snape was white faced and shaking. She ran to him and put her arms around him. He flinched.

"It's all right…I'm sorry I intruded… Severus…what can I do?…" she took his hands in hers. "So much makes sense, though, now….why you look at him and your blood boils….what an arrogant little toerag that father of his was!"

Snape pulled himself together.

"You don't need many lessons I see" he said dryly. "Yes. That is why I dislike Harry Potter so much. I cannot see why people say he is not arrogant…he looks so much like his father…and all the attention…how can it not make him arrogant?"

"Oh Severus, for a clever man, you can't half be daft at times!" said Krait with gentle exasperation. "Don't you realise? In that horrid home of his aunt's and uncle's, he suffers continual humiliation from them and more from his cousin, the apple of their eye. Ron told me some about it. He can barely manage to believe in himself, let alone do arrogant… he just does what you do and tries to stare people out as a form of defence…only he hasn't got such a good nose for the job as you do. You see arrogance because you EXPECT to see arrogance and it's just blind misery and defiance."

Snape was shocked and not a little sceptical; but his defences were down, shaken by her intrusion.

"Are you sure? Can I be so wrong? He defies me constantly…."

"Of course he does. You were shocked when you first saw him, and I bet you froze him out from the start to prevent him doing a James on you…I defied the nuns constantly, so they'd not know how scared I was of them. When you taught me boggarts, it was a nun….you saw that…I'd already had plenty of practise thinking of things to make them ridiculous so that was easy…Harry idolises the memory of his father, because James Potter defied Fishface…I guess James grew up some or he'd not be respected…but Domine, Harry has to know why you hate him if you are to work together."

"No!"

"Yes!" she urged. "Don't you think he's going to identify with you more than with his father? Don't you think I can recognise someone who's used to being hurt and humiliated? I tell you again, he is more like to your son than Potter's, physical resemblance notwithstanding! Think about it, please?" she sighed. "If there was only a more impersonal way he could learn….I could tell him, I suppose, if you let me, but telling is not seeing…"

"There is another way…..the Pensieve. It shows memories, but using your subconscious…what really happened, not one's own perceptions. You ask a lot of me, Krait."

She laid her head against him; absently he stoked her pale locks.

"Trust between you and Harry would improve our chances against my father" she said. "It would also, if you can come to some understanding, make both of you stronger people, I think. Your feelings about James Potter is a weakness, because you dwell on it."

"And Sirius Black. Who'd have thought he'd betray Potter?"

Krait looked surprised.

"But he didn't. It was someone called Wormtail – the one Crouch mentioned. He cut off his finger, to look like it was all that was left of him, they told me the story in brief. Sirius Black was set up, and they talk of him as though he's an okay chap. Though years in Azkaban, from what I've heard of it, ought to have a chastening effect on anyone."

"The mistress of litotes I see" he had himself back under complete control. "Of course…there was so much going on with Crouch, that Wormtail was alive and with the dark lord scarcely registered. I will consider it, Krait. I – I suppose it cannot make things worse….but I fear him spreading it around in the worst way, spreading that nickname…."

"If he does, I shall be doing some spreading myself" said Krait grimly. "Spreading his nose across his face for starters, then dragging him out to the Quidditch pitch and rolling him so deep in mud it'll take a month of Sundays before anyone can clean him up to resemble anything human!" she frowned. "And then I'll dredge out his most embarrassing moments and write a song about them, so there!" she scowled fiercely.

"You little savage, I think you would, too" he said appreciatively.

"Better believe it" she said.


	13. Chapter 13

_The glee club singing 'double double' on the film was too great a temptation to send up. And Krait REALLY doesn't like it; and if you consider the line 'fillet of a fenny snake' you can work out why._

**Chapter 13: **stubborn males need to be led not prodded

Krait knew better than to push Severus. It would be time enough to prod him if he did not do as she suggested. She immersed herself in her work and skived gently during flying practice. Rita Skeeter was still much in evidence, and Krait was mightily tempted to turn HER into a Pekinese. She had refused to return Hagrid's pet to normal, telling him bluntly that one was as nasty as the other, but that at least Pekineses only farted fart, not flame. Hagrid had been a little hurt, but Krait had been quite blunt about the effect of trusting reporters and strongly suggested all the skrewts should become Pekes until Skeeter had left. Hermione, Ron and Harry had backed her up and Hagrid had reluctantly given in. Peeves had followed Krait for a while barking hysterically but retreated when she suggested muzzling him.

It was perhaps unfortunate that one of the Pekes still farted flames; Krait was irritated with herself about this lack of efficiency.

"Never mind; even blast-ended Pekes are better than blast-ended skrewts" said Hermione "And if you ask me it's what you get for losing your patience and doing the last four as a mass transfiguration instead of one at a time."

"It was a trifle overambitious" admitted Krait "Still, on the whole it worked; which means I should have no trouble turning Fred and George both together into weasels if they continue to treat the whole Triwizard thing as a lark and come close to bullying Harry with their so jolly ways."

"I shouldn't be surprised if your combined _langlock_ and the tickling curse might not make them think" said Hermione, who had appreciated the smoothness with which Krait had dropped the combined curses on the twins that morning. "I hadn't thought about it being bullying; I just put it down to being 'only Fred and George'; and they do MEAN well."

"Yes; and I've seen that before too" said Krait grimly, thinking of James Potter.

-/-

In transfiguration, the class had been transforming Guinea Fowl into Guinea Pigs; an exercise that Krait had no moral problem with. She certainly had no problem with the concept either; the association of the names seemed logical, at least by wizarding logic; and she had used association to change the skrewts, for she loathed Pekes as nasty vicious little dogs with an all too great propensity for breaking wind. No wonder it had been so easy. She sighed a little to see that Neville's guinea pig still had feathers; but told herself that Rome wasn't built in a day, and self confidence needed training. Professor McGonagall's bombshell that for the Yule Ball they would need partners did come as a shock. And when Harry told them all that as a Champion he and his partner would be one of the four couples leading off the dancing his look of profound disgust showed her that he was as happy about the ball as she was.

"Who are you taking?" she asked.

"How would I know?" he replied, helplessly.

She shrugged.

"There's probably rules against me asking Domine…if you don't think of anyone else, I'll go with you."

"What if someone else asks you in the meantime?"

"I'll say no…and if you get someone else, it gives me an excuse to weasel out of the thing" she said cheerfully.

-/-

Krait had not been so immersed in schoolwork that she had failed to take in other aspects of school life, even if she did not participate; the singing group's party piece 'Double double' gave her an idea to tease and hopefully cheer up her guardian, and accordingly she learned the words. She set up a charm to warn her when Severus approached and started singing with careful timing so that at the line "something wicked this way comes!" she could fling out an arm to gesture as he entered the dungeon.

Snape stopped dead on the threshold and the class held their breath, half inclined to giggle, half terrified.

"Miss Day, have you any idea why I loathe and detest that song?" He asked softly.

"I can think of several reasons" she grinned. "Shakespeare was a hack…. If he really was Kit Marlowe he was a dissolute hack…. And no muggle hack has the right to make fun of our House founder."

His eyes glittered.

"Quite so, Miss Day. You may write me an essay covering each and every ingredient in that sordid concoction explaining why it is on so many levels quite inappropriate."

Krait beamed.

"That'll be fun!" she said brightly. She decided to neglect to tell him that she had already done some research that grew out of her own irritation towards writing it up for her own satisfaction. It would be more fun to see the expression on his face when she handed him a screed before he was expecting it. Krait felt that it was most important to keep Severus entertained with such little amusements whilst he sorted out his priorities about letting Harry into his memories.

-/-

What Severus thought about her entertainments ranged from private amusement through to exasperation. He said to Professor Dumbledore,

"Drat the girl, Albus, she positively seems to enjoy detentions, she gets into trouble with me for the sheer fact that she can, and then creates things like THIS" he touched the flower she had made with gentle fingers, still blooming strongly "And tells me that she is fond of me….she interferes in my private life, she's trying to get me to share my memories with Potter…"

"Severus, it seems to me that she is seeking your attention….remember she has no family of her own….she enjoys your company, and if detention is the way to get it, that is what she will seek."

"I can't see why….anyway, I've not banned her from my office, she comes often in the evenings to sew there whilst I mark books, she seems content enough in that."

Albus Dumbledore shot him a shrewd glance.

"I wouldn't worry, if I were you, Severus" he said. "She'll settle down in her own good time….as for suggesting Harry should share your memories, it's a bold suggestion but I'm not sure it might not be the right one….I can understand why you would rather keep him out of some of your thoughts but I think any reaction he had would surprise you."

"Every feeling screams against it" Severus almost whispered. "And yet….Krait is his contemporary, and though I gave her my preconceived idea about him, she tells me I am wrong….I do not know what to do."

Dumbledore smiled and put a hand on the younger wizard's shoulder.

"My dear boy, you have come a long way in the last term…..even to be considering taking Krait's advice over so hard a matter. She means a very great deal to you that you should so take her ideas seriously."

"She does" Snape's tone was surprised. "I – I can't easily remember what it was like not to have her around….she can be infernally annoying, but I think….I think I'd miss it if she stopped being facetious and teasing…she uses facetiae as armour you know, keeping people at arms length by banter rather than freezing them out – one of her expressions, it's apt – as I do. She makes happiness a habit even when she isn't….to prove that no-one can hurt her. Are all muggles naturally cruel, Albus?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Not at all. You've met some poor examples, I grant you….but remember there are so many muggles that there are greater numbers of cruel ones just because there are so many of all kinds. Muggles who deal with our kind are often either bemused and a little worshipful, or unkind because they fear….Krait is different, they could not make her conform. It brings out the worst in those who want to control."

"Have you seen her back?" Snape asked harshly.

"No….but I read it in your memories" said Dumbledore, looking into the potion master's eyes. "And I read that you thought the young children you passed in the orphanage more cowed than even you would like your classes to be….that you were shocked to find that there are those whose discipline goes beyond what you would ever consider when you pride yourself on being terrifying in your harshness."

"She GRINS at me when I set her punishment!" complained Severus "Like she accepts it as a reward!"

Dumbledore chuckled.

"You're surely not afraid that she'll undermine your carefully crafted reign of terror in the dungeon?"

"N-no…the others look at her in horror and wait for me to feed her to flesh eating slugs or something….believe me, it's tempting sometimes!" he chuckled suddenly. "'Something wicked this way comes' indeed!"

"Quite appropriate since you go out of your way to be the ogre of the dungeon" mused Dumbledore.

"Truly….I suppose I'm unsettled because I know what I ought to do and I don't like it" said Snape cryptically.

"I rely on you, Severus, to make the right decision….I have never questioned your courage, any more than I have ever questioned your loyalty and commitment" responded Dumbledore seriously.

His courage! The wily old BASTARD, thought Snape; he knew how to needle, how to suggest that to refuse to show the Potter boy his memories was an act of cowardice; well, he would make up his own mind and Dumbledore should not rule his decision. He almost decided to refuse point blank to prove that he was not to have his strings jerked, by Dumbledore or Krait, or anyone.

-/-

It took several days for Snape to make up his mind; then he summoned Krait to his office.

"Tell Potter to come and see it" he said tightly. "I'll wait in the back room….if he wants to talk when he's seen….."

A large bowl lay on the table with silvery strands of thoughts within it. Krait nodded.

"I'll prepare him some first with generalities" she said.

"I leave that to you….you know how to handle the boy I suppose" he said grudgingly "I…. Well, we shall see."

-/-

Krait caught up with Harry wandering disconsolately as he avoided being waylaid by giggling third years wanting to go to the ball with him. Romilda Vane in particular was a real problem who seemed to pop up with the same devastating bad timing as Peeves, as Harry said.

Krait had suggested hexing her and had been told off by Hermione for suggesting picking on younger ones, so had shrugged and kept quiet.

"Harry, couple of serious questions" Krait said.

"Yeah?" he was listening.

"You ever come across the really hearty types – good enough at lessons not to have to work too hard, good at games, rudely healthy – the ones who push around those of us who are bookworms or different or who are small?"

"Who's been bullying you?" he was indignant.

"I'm too nasty to take bullies seriously" she said. "But I never said the word….you do recognise the type, then?"

"Yeah" he said. "All outgoing, cocky, good enough not to fail in class even if they don't bother to use all their brains, despise people who have to work hard or who want to. They're bullies because they pick on people that aren't like them. A bit like Cormac McLaggan, who knows everything there is to know about Quidditch and tells me, though – when we're playing – it's me that's picked for the team not him"

"Oh he's one that knows everything and knows nowt" said Krait "A sub-type of the breed. And probably those types don't even realise what bullies they really are and would be hurt if you told them" she added, intently. "Thinking only what good sport it is to – in their minds – tease the class swot for the amusement of others. Especially if he comes from a poor home where quality of clothing is pretty poor and looks the worse for wear all the time….they can't appreciate difference and low spirits in others and if they're also quite well off they have no concept of the degradation of being poor at a rich kid's school. Ron can tell you something about that."

"Yeah" said Harry with feeling. "Where is this leading?"

"I want you to come with me and watch a memory" said Krait. "You won't enjoy the experience, but you need to see it to help the team."

"Okay" said Harry.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: **Painful Things Come In More Than One Form

Krait let herself back into Snape's office with a hairpin. Harry expostulated.

"Krait! He might be in there!"

"I know exactly where he is" said Krait. "Trust me."

"I HATE it when people say that" grumbled Harry.

Krait led Harry to the Pensieve on the table and slipped her arm through his.

"I'll ride along" she said. There might after all be some differences in the expelled memory to those memories she had invaded. She was not sure how this Pensieve business worked.

Harry bent over the bowl; and he and Krait plunged into the memories of Severus Snape.

The memory that included James Potter went back further than where Krait had picked up on it, to Potter senior and his friends discussing their O.W.L in Defence against the Dark Arts, and Krait was shocked to realise that one of the four was the self same Wormtail she had heard about, himself put down and treated somewhat contemptuously by Potter. They laughed and gently teased a boy they called Moonie over how well he did in the question on werewolves; he opined that he had 'loved it' and chuckled over the question on the signs to distinguish a werewolf. This then was presumably Professor Lupin that Harry and friends had talked about, the unfortunate werewolf. The memory went on then to what Krait had already seen of the teasing of Severus. Harry's body was stiff and trembling next to hers as he watched his way through the memory. There were tears in his eyes when he looked up, when the memory ended and their consciousnesses emerged from the Pensieve.

"I – how COULD he?"

"Tell me what shocks you most, Harry." She was implacable.

Harry swallowed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't want to practice resisting cruciatus. But I'm going to" she said inexorably.

He swallowed again.

"All right. What hurts? It hurts that I understand how he feels….how SNAPE feels, not my father…that my father is every bit as arrogant as Snape has always said….that he was cruel…why did Snape call my mother that? She was only trying to help…."

"And if Cho Chang – I am right, aren't I? – found YOU in so embarrassing a situation, wouldn't you wish her elsewhere and lash out and then regret it so much afterwards? It wasn't her birth status you dipstick, it was because he fancied her. Then somehow your beef-brained father managed to win her…"

Harry was almost crying.

"But…why have people lied? Said he was a hero?"

"Maybe he grew up. But however much people grow up, if they forge enmities at school and aren't ready to heal the breaches before they leave, those enmities can only fester."

"Subsequent obligations and guilts do not help, Potter" Severus' voice came from the doorway of the inner room. "I found myself under a life debt to your father because he warned me when your precious Sirius Black tried to kill me."

"NO!" Harry was horrified.

"I'm afraid, yes" said Snape. "He tricked me into the passage to the shrieking shack when Moonie Lupin was undergoing his transformation….I hold no grudges against Lupin, his condition is scarcely his fault, but he would, in that state have mauled me and made me a werewolf too if he had not killed me. Your father at least found enough of a sense of responsibility to persuade me out. I acknowledge the debt. But the history continues." He was white and shaking. Krait went to him and laid a hand on his arm. He looked down at her. "I wonder if you will despise me" he said, his face twisting into a painful sneer.

"I doubt it" she said calmly. "We all do things we are heartily ashamed of. It's better to get it out and examine it than let it grow and fester like a cancer in your soul."

He gave a brief half smile.

"Practical as ever…..before I turned, I took news of the prophesy when I heard it spoken by Madam Trelawney to my dark master. I –I realised when he reacted that he was a madman…some of the scales fell from my eyes. It's nice to be flattered when you've always been put down" he added "He knew exactly how to steal souls…..later, when Wormtail had provided the location of the house in Godric's Hollow – though I did not then know it was Wormtail who had been the betrayer, when Barty Crouch said who was helping his master it was a shock – I" he broke off, his face working "I hesitated and agonised before I told the Order of the Phoenix…"

"You did not see James as any great loss and hoped that Lily might need comforting?" said Krait, quietly.

Severus nodded.

"But I had nothing against Lily's baby…and there was the life debt….and I failed because I spent several minutes wrestling with myself over it." He whispered.

"But you won the wrestling because you DID tell the Order" said Krait. "I doubt you hesitated long enough for it to make a difference. Such self arguments don't last as long on the outside as they seem to on the inside." She looked at Harry. "What say you?"

Harry was suffering with conflicting emotions.

"James – my father – must have improved or my mother wouldn't have loved him and married him" he whispered. "Couldn't you see that?"

"I didn't WANT to see it" Severus snapped. "Don't you see? I pictured her suffering from slights and humiliation, maybe even physical violence, it's what often happens in marriages…."

Harry stared.

"Is – is that what happened with your parents?"

Severus went white.

"Did you tell him?" he asked Krait. She shook her head.

"No. he's bright enough to pick that up for himself. Besides, I only saw glimpses." She took his hand firmly. "Harry, we're all damaged people in this room, and the sooner we acknowledge that and learn to live with it and move on, the happier we're all going to be. I want you two to shake hands – and to promise me you're going to be more tolerant of each other now you've started to talk and understand each other."

Harry nodded.

"I kind of feel I want to apologise for my father" he said "Though he – his actions – aren't my fault. I HATED what he did. But…I guess you're sorry about any hesitation….I – I don't think I blame you any, if that's worth anything.." he held out his hand.

Severus paused for a moment; and took it. His own hand was very cold, Harry noticed.

"I will try to see past the past….James would never weep for another…don't tell anyone about this, Potter."

"Call him Harry" suggested Krait. "It dissociates him from James, too…I told you he was more like you than you realised."

"Harry" said Severus, a trifle warily. "But Potter in public. I must maintain my image in case we are overlooked."

"Sir" said Harry.

"And if you do tell anyone" said Krait "You so are going to wish my father got you first before I did"

"I wouldn't!" said Harry, hurt. "Can I say anything in general terms to my friends?"

"No" said Severus uncompromisingly.

"You can tell them that you understand each other a bit better after a long talk" said Krait, ignoring her guardian's glare. "They'll panic if you don't say anything…you do feel that you understand each other better, don't you?"

Harry nodded.

"I'll wait on results" said Snape ungraciously. "I've shared the memory, that was enough thank you."

"Thank you Sir" said Harry. "I can only guess how hard that was. I – I don't know if I could have done that if I had been in your shoes."

"A candid admission" Severus thawed a little. "You can go now. I need…just go."

"I'll make you coffee" said Krait "And then I'll get out too."

-/-

Draco Malfoy scowled at Krait as she came along from Snape's room.

She smiled cheerfully.

"Lost the apes? Good for you. Get some friends instead." She said.

"I have plenty of friends thank you!" he yelped.

Krait shook her head.

"Sorry, Draco, you have lots of sycophants. They'd trample each other in the rush to get away if you were suddenly poor. You haven't got any friends because you've had your head filled with tripe by your father who gives you bad advice, expensive presents and, I bet, damn all time and affection." She said.

Draco stared open mouthed.

"You know how to be truly offensive, don't you?" he said.

"It's taken this long to find out? I'm trying to be nice in my own peculiar way….come with me."

Draco followed, more out of curiosity than willingness. She went in search of Harry.

"Harry, a word? In private?" she said. Harry followed, still bemused from his encounter with Snape's deepest secrets. Krait led them into the garden where it snowed, fitfully. "Trust me?" she said to Harry. He nodded.

"I suppose"

Krait produced a knife from her sleeve; and gave it to Draco.

"Kill Potter" she said. "Cut his throat and watch his life's blood spurt out, staining his shirt, pulsing with his slowing heartbeat, gurgling up through his throat and frothing out from his bluing lips as he falls to the ground twitching in his death throes, and his last breath gasping out in a crepitant rattle."

Harry blinked.

Draco had turned slightly green at Krait's graphic description. He swallowed and licked his lips.

"I – I can't" he said.

"I know" said Krait. "Thanks, Harry, you can sod off now."

"I like the way neither you nor Snape have any concept of hinting" said Harry. "I'll see you sometime."

Draco watched him go.

"What was that for?" he complained.

"Draco, I see a lot of conflict in you. And a lot of hurting. And I know you're not a killer; but the time will come when you have to choose not to be a killer; or to be brutalised and forced into doing things that will fill you with self disgust. You despise muggle blood because this is what you have been taught; but there's a world of difference between bigotry and murder. It's what Deatheaters are, murderers. And for what? Not for ideals, I assure you, even if they think so. I told you Voldemort was a half blood. I can tell you why Professor Snape told me – I think it is meet that you should know. Voldemort is my father. It's why I'm a Parselmouth. He is using the Deatheaters. He is hungry for one thing, and that is his OWN power. He kills for pleasure as he hurts for pleasure, and I don't know what they call that in the wizarding world, but in the muggle world it's called being a psychopath. And don't give me any tripe about the relaxed responsibilities of higher minds" she said as Draco opened his mouth "Because even muggles have proved that such thinking actually proves insanity. Your father and his friends follow a madman; and if your father has ever shown you any true affection, I – I'll eat Mrs Norris' spare fur!"

"My father is good to me, he gives me anything I want!" cried Draco.

"Except, maybe, his time, his praise and his affection" said Krait. "Can you look me in the eye and say how much your father shows pleasure in your company? How he spends quality time with you in the holidays fishing or riding winged horses or whatever rich kids are supposed to do with their fathers in leisure time?"

Draco flushed.

"Of course he loves me!" he cried.

"If you didn't wonder, you'd be able to just laugh at me" said Krait. "You're fooling nobody but yourself, my friend. When did he last tell you that he loves you?"

"I HATE you!" screamed Draco.

"Truth hurts" said Krait. "When you want a friend, Draco, I'll be there." She laid a hand on his arm, taking no offence and feeling no surprise when he shook it off. "Only friends can be cruel to be kind, but somebody has to be – before you get dragged into something that leaves you screaming inside." She left him to cogitate.

It was risky taking such an approach to a Deatheater's son of course. But if she had read matters aright, there was a sad little boy screaming inside Draco Malfoy's arrogant façade. More armour, she thought to herself.

-/-/-/-

Snape decreed the next day that Krait was ready to resist the cruciatus curse. Briefly it crossed her mind that he wished to lash out at her for knowing too much; but one look at his set, grim face dispelled that notion. She nodded, trying to keep the fear out of her eyes as she met his gaze.

"_Crucio!" _ he pointed the wand. Fire shot through her body, she felt herself fall to the ground. It's only pain, she tried to force the thought through the mind-crippling agony, working to shut a part of herself off from the searing pain in her body, forcing it to be peripheral, belonging to somebody else….and then it was dark.

When Krait came to, Snape knelt beside her on the floor, cradling her head on one knee.

"How are you?" the question was urgent.

"I feel like I've been pulled into a dozen little Kraitlings…" she said "Nobody here reads Kipling I suppose."

"You're coherent – well as coherent as you ever are – which is a good sign" he said dryly. Krait reached up to touch his face, and he flinched back. Not before she felt what she thought she had seen briefly through the veil of his hair. Her fingers were damp.

"Would this help?" she concentrated and assumed the form of James Potter. He started in brief revulsion.

"No" he said. "It is still you within."

Krait shifted back.

"Good, it's easier being me" she said. "However do you men cope with so many things dangling in the breeze?"

"More adequately than you women with so many things that leak blood without any wounds" he said dryly. "You actually changed form? Just like that?"

She looked surprised.

"Well, obviously. Me to snake and back is dead easy, but other forms are no real problem…you're giving me one of those peculiar looks again Severus."

"I had heard of such a thing….a Metamorphagus….but never seen it…Krait, do not register that at the ministry, tell them only that you are an animagus. You are too powerful, too useful, they will try to use you, exploit you!" he said earnestly.

"All right" she said. "I – I've rested. Shall we carry on?"

He swallowed and helped her to her feet; and began again.

Once again she passed out before she screamed.

This time he had half lifted her onto his knees, cradling her against him. She felt the tears of her own pain still wet, others crusting saltily on her face.

"I – I can't do it again Severus" she said. "I – I'm sorry to be weak."

"Weak?" he said angrily "You are not weak. You scorn to scream, but I tell you if you scream for his benefit, and still pass out without babbling your inmost secrets he will believe that you have none. You are strong. Or maybe just stubborn."

She laughed shakily.

"Stubborn, Severus. I think I'll just take a nap now." She turned her head into him and fell asleep instantly. He held her against himself, cushioning her as comfortably as he could, wishing that his left foot had not gone to sleep.

With such strength, defeating Voldemort was a real possibility…. If only Harry was as strong. Or perhaps he was; perhaps there were too many things they did not understand about each other…. If he could talk to Harry without the boy freezing into defiance and hatred, if he could train him in occlumency to shut out the dark lord's possibility of glimpsing into a mind left open to him by that extraordinary event thirteen years before….

Snape shook his head.

Playing the 'if' game was unproductive; they would just have to see how things went from now on.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to all those of you who are reviewing me! It's very encouraging! Thanks too to those who are enjoying but can't think of anything to say; I guess your continued presence is a review of sorts that you want to keep reading. I hope you continue to like the way the story is heading. There's a few more twists in this one yet!**

**Chapter 15: ** Forging Understandings

Harry knew that Krait had gone for training with Snape, but she had been gone a long time. He went and knocked on Snape's door.

"Who is it?" it was barely a whisper.

"Me, sir – Harry"

"Come in"

Whatever Harry had expected to find it had not been his one time enemy kneeling on the floor with the inert body of Krait cradled against him.

"S-Sir? Is she…" Harry felt his heart come to his mouth.

"She's asleep" said Snape. "She's rather frail, she gets easily exhausted, however great her will and spirit may be."

"I see sir" said Harry.

"Pray that you don't see, not ever" said Snape grimly. "She has more courage than the whole Ministry as a collective; and she's doing this to prevent the cruciatus curse being felt by those who cannot resist it, before Fishface gets enough power to stalk the streets openly."

"I would learn if you thought it necessary"

Snape looked at him thoughtfully.

"It may be valuable for you to feel it at some time, from the wand of an ally that will stop when you call for it; but do not suggest such lightly. She NEEDS to be able to resist. It could save her life."

Harry nodded. He noted, but did not mention, the tear tracks on Snape's face; it was good to know that the man was human enough to dislike hurting his ward. He must have become quite fond of her, Harry mused.

"Sir, if I could resist, it could be useful. If – if he captures me, or it becomes necessary for you to pretend to hand me over, my ability to resist could buy time" he said tightly. "And it's better to know sooner than later if I can't resist and so am no good to consider for such a plan"

Snape regarded him steadily.

"You're either an idiot or you have courage" he said. "Maybe a bit of both…no, you've thought it through, I see the fear in your eyes….you have courage, and that was spoken like a true Gryffindor."

"Everyone says I am a true Gryffindor" said Harry a trifle huffily.

"Ah yes…. But what most of them mean is the bone witted urge to run heedlessly into danger for the thrill of it….your true hero goes out into danger fully aware that he is not necessarily going to return and that it is going to be unpleasant….Godric Gryffindor was no fool, else he had not survived to found a House. Blind luck is useful, lad, but it's not enough. Up until now, you've fallen headlong into trouble and butted on regardless because you are the prophecy and all your friends expected it of you….and because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Like your father. Because, perhaps, nobody else seemed to be doing anything and you acted from frustration…your body language is as revealing as legilimency, boy, learn to curb it….because Professor Dumbledore wants to insulate you, give you the chance of a childhood….he can't do that on the one hand yet praise your frequent disobediences on the other, in my opinion. But you're a man, Harry, like it or not, in an evil world, and you deserve to be treated as such now…I'll show you how to resist cruciatus and work on you with imperius too."

"I guess your definition makes you a hero" said Harry softly. "I never thought about it before….Krait said it was dangerous, but seeing her, thinking of – of HIM….and you have to lie with body language, with your mind for hour after hour at a time…."

Snape shrugged trying to pretend nonchalance, trying to pretend that it was not rather pleasing, having the boy realise that and acknowledge it.

"Terror does concentrate the mind wonderfully" he said. "One does what one has to do….Coffee would be nice" he added. "There's a kettle on the fire and coffee and mugs in the cupboard. Two sugars, black. If you take milk, there's some in a can"

"Er, yeah" said Harry, making coffee. The surreal nature of drinking coffee with Snape was enough to leave him tongue-tied after blurting out his thoughts to have them made light of….or was Snape making light of his own part, because it was too terrible to want to discuss it? Harry watched his former bête noir covertly and came to the conclusion that the second guess was closer to the truth. He felt a flood of something akin to warmth for his old adversary. Together they WERE stronger!

Krait stirred.

"I smell coffee" she murmured.

"I'll make some" said Harry, hurriedly.

Snape glanced down at her.

"Ready to be moved?" he asked.

"I'm quite comfortable, thanks" she said, smiling dreamily at him. "Oh, or did you mean, let me get up now you pestilent girl, I need a pee?"

Snape's face worked slightly.

"Something like that" he said. He lifted her to his battered settee and left the room.

"I'd never have thought of him needing a pee" whispered Harry.

"Why not? Adults gotta go too" said Krait prosaically. "And I think I had my elbow in his bladder region. Got to be cruelly uncomfortable that."

Snape returned presently with a mask like face.

"Looking forward to the ball, Pot – Harry? He asked.

"No, not really" said Harry, honestly. "At least Krait said she'd stand by as reserve partner to rescue me at the last minute."

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I'd have thought you'd be inundated with requests to escort you, Krait" he said. "You don't need to be anyone's reserve"

Harry flushed.

Krait sniffed.

"I don't really want to go, I can't ethically ask who I'd want to ask and so I may as well go with Harry" she said.

"Romance IS dead" murmured Snape.

"No point being romantic about someone you don't feel an ounce of romantic feeling for, is there?" said Krait. "Harry's a friend, no more, no less."

"And who was so unkind as to be unavailable for you?" Snape's voice had a dangerously silky quality.

"Hardly unkind" she laughed. "I didn't ask you because I thought it would raise some eyebrows."

His face became even more mask like.

"You are probably correct" he said. "I do not believe there is any instance of a pupil taking a member of staff to the Ball as a partner. Though your father had the brazen cheek to dance with most of the female members of staff I believe"

Krait chuckled.

"I'd worry more if he'd danced with the male ones" she said.

Harry coughed into his coffee.

Severus gave his harsh laugh.

"What an amusing picture…Horace Slughorn waltzing ponderously with Tom Riddle. How wonderful!" he said. "Or quickstepping with Flitwick…"

Harry actually laughed out loud at that concept. Horace Slughorn was not a name he knew, but the concept of little Flitwick in Voldemort's evening gowned embrace was more than he could cope with.

"That's more the thing" said Krait contentedly. "No throne so high it cannot be rocked by laughter from below….In Nazi Germany, Heinrich Himmler's number two used to picture his chief in his underwear to help him to cope with his fear and loathing of him. If we can think in such terms of my father we will not be paralysed by fear."

"Do you still need to think of me like that?" Snape turned on Harry.

"No sir!" said Harry, realising it was true. "I – I think I see the man now, not any um, trappings of, well, er…"

"You're digging yourself a hole, Harry" said Krait. "You mean you see past the façade of protective sarcasm, right?"

"Yeah" said Harry "Only not so wordy"

"Words are an armour too" said Krait. "If you can blow away the opposition by using words they don't understand, you put them at a disadvantage, even when they feign to scoff ones verbiage"

"Oh" said Harry. "That makes sense."

He had been twenty minutes maybe in Snape's company without argument, without feeling humiliated. Maybe – just maybe! Things were looking up.

Krait heaved a sigh.

"I cannot manage to bother with people" she said. "Have you got any spare pillows and blankets? I could stay here…"

"I should take you to Madam Pomfrey" Severus was concerned.

"DAMN Madam Pomfrey" said Krait forcefully. "She'll make a fuss and demand to know what I've been up to, and as she's not one of us, she'll shout at you."

Severus pulled a face.

"If you're sure…she would fuss, of course. You have the bed, I'll sleep on the settee."

Krait made an indelicate noise.

"The length you are? Talk sense, do! You'd get a monstrous backache, but it fits me just fine, see?" she stretched out and wriggled her shoulders comfortably against the cushions.

Severus cleared his throat loudly and shifted uncomfortably.

"Very well" he said. "What do you plan to say to your peers tomorrow? They'll be nosy."

Krait chuckled.

"I'll start with a small lie badly told, move to a big and highly improbable lie worse told, them give 'em a plausible tale that I took ill in detention and let them assume you sent me to sick bay" she said.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Do I want to know your lies implausibly told?"

She grinned.

"I'll open by saying I spent a night of wild passion with you; then suggest I spent a night of wild lesbian passion with McGonagall. That oughta slay them!"

Snapes's face was a study; and he spluttered loudly over her second suggestion.

"How did you survive to near adulthood unstrangled?" he asked.

"Would you believe, pure thoughts and clean living?"

"No"

"Didn't think you would" she grinned.

He laughed ruefully and shook his head.

"I'll get you bed linen" he said.

Harry was amazed. He had not even realised that Snape could laugh, let alone over being teased; and there was a softness in the Potion Master's face when he looked at his ward that made him almost unrecognisable. He found himself grinning at the man.

"She's as bossy as Hermione, isn't she sir?" he said sympathetically.

"Bossier" asserted Snape. "It's your bedtime too, Harry…..she'll be all right."

Harry nodded, and departed, wondering how he was going to explain to Ron that he had spent a convivial evening with Snape and drank coffee with him!

-/-

Krait awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of muttering that she recognised well as a nightmare, having dealt with many small children in the throes of such in the orphanage. She padded through to Severus' private room and softly pulled aside the curtains round his bed. He was tossing and moaning.

"Don't hurt her, my lord…I'm the one you want….please…."

Krait swallowed hard. Gently she stroked his nose and spoke soothingly as she had been wont to do with her small charges.

"It's all right, Severus…I'm here, you're all right, we're all all right" she said softly.

"Krait…." He turned towards her, his lips questing for her soothing finger.

Krait's belly flopped over and she gasped. Not Lily's name…now she could put an ugly name to the vague anger she felt towards Harry's mother for not recognising Severus' admiration….it was jealousy. And now there was no need….now she knew what she felt…that it was she he reached for in the depths of his subconscious…

His eyes snapped open.

"Krait?" he was startled, flushing dark red.

"You had a nightmare about Fishface….I stroked your nose. It used to work with my mixed infants" she said.

"I don't recall a nightmare… it must have worked" he was still blushing.

"I – I guess I'd better go back to bed" she said, feeling her own colour rise. Some things were just too strong, too wild to be anything but scary without the chance to come to terms with them.

"Yes" he said harshly.

Krait returned to her settee; but not to sleep. Severus too lay wakeful; and presently he got up. Knowing that she was in the next room, too close for comfort…..

_If he comes to look at me I shall reach out to him_ Krait vowed to herself.

She was unsure whether it was relief or disappointment that filled her most when he walked past her makeshift bed without a glance to go on one of his periodic prowls. Maybe nightmares were not uncommon for him; maybe it was why he prowled so much late at night. Sleep deprivation would not help anybody's disposition either she thought sleepily.

Severus stopped to gaze down at her on his return; but by then Krait was fast asleep, one arm outflung, her head haloed with her mane of silvery blonde hair.

"So young…" he muttered and passed abruptly through to his own bed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: **Declarations

Severus was abrupt and distant in the morning.

Krait cared not a jot. That was only his armour talking. She took herself gaily to breakfast and told her assorted lies to the curious. As she had predicted, the third, equally mendacious, tale was the one accepted.

She danced off to boast her success to Severus, coming like a young whirlwind into the dungeon on her way to meet her fellows – or rather out of her way on her way to meet her fellows – with her silver-blonde plait whirling like the ivory snake that was her other form as she pirouetted joyfully in to see him as he set out the ingredients for the first lesson.

"They pooh-poohed you as a lover on grounds that you'd not contaminate yourself on a pupil" she chuckled. "Though Pansy did say you couldn't understand a word as short as 'sex'"

"How nice to be appreciated" he said with heavy irony.

"And, Domine, that also means" she said, twinkling at him "If I ever should want to do something like engage in a wild lesbian affair with McGonagall, nobody will believe it!"

"Uuh… oh!" he said, nonplussed. Had she just suggested….no, surely she was just joking!

Krait touched his arm and smiled.

"Don't you have anything to do before the ball?" he asked harshly. "if we're to go to St Mungo's and the orphanage and my library we shall have to leave straight away tomorrow…"

"I'm packed" she said. "There's not enough for it to take long…but I'll get out from underfoot if that's what you mean."

He watched her dance away with mixed feelings.

He did not like the person who intercepted her in the corridor.

-/-

Karkaroff found Krait an attractive girl; and he was looking forward to the ball.

"You will dance with me at the ball, ja?" he asked her, bowing stiffly from the waist. Krait regarded him with disfavour.

"Oh, but I'd be so afraid of hurting your left forearm" she said silkily. "It throbs so much worse for turncoats, doesn't it?"

Karkaroff went pale.

"What do you mean?" he asked furiously.

Krait peeled back her own sleeve; and Severus, watching, felt the slight surge of her will, because it was familiar to him; on her forearm appeared to writhe a real snake hissing out of the illusory skull.

_**ssss**__How do you like my pet? __**ssss **_ she hissed cheerfully.

Karkaroff screamed and fled. Krait chortled happily.

Severus was delighted, and moved off, chuckling to himself, to the surprise, horror and consternation of a pair of younger pupils who instantly spread the word that Snape had dreamed up a horrible punishment for someone; or was planning to poison everyone at the Ball!

Harry had told Hermione, Ron and Neville that Krait had seemed quite cheerful after her painful training; Neville had almost had hysterics when he found out what had been happening; and Harry had also mentioned that she had put herself to bed on Snape's settee. Hearing the rumours of Snape's good humour and presumed evil intentions Hermione looked at Krait rather narrowly.

"They say Snape's pretty happy today" she said.

Krait grinned.

"Yeah… I was intolerably rude to Karkaroff. They can't stand each other." She said.

"That's it?" Hermione sounded disbelieving.

"I had already made him laugh after breakfast telling him the reactions to my big lie" said Krait, and proceeded to elaborate. The boys roared with laughter and went on their way still chuckling. Hermione looked thoughtful.

"Krait…you and Snape…" she said .

"Mmmm?"

"I just wondered….." Hermione flushed as she spoke.

"Give a girl time" said Krait. "He's too subtle to lasso and tie to my broom you know, and he's running into the bargain. Something about my age, I expect, which I suppose is fair enough. Time will cure that though."

"Oh!" said Hermione, who had half expected blushing denials or equally blushing incoherence, or indignant denial. "You're a very unexpected sort of girl, Krait."

"Good" said Krait. "Surprise is half the battle."

-/-/-

The ball started at eight o'clock; and Krait found herself partnering Harry. Ron was with one of the Patil twins, Krait was not sure which, and Hermione stunned everyone with her lovely hair let loose, arriving on the arm of Viktor Krum. Ron caught a few flies and Krait shook her head.

She had her own love life to sort out; it was up to Ron and Hermione to get themselves together, or otherwise.

Krait had taken great care with her appearance; there was one person she wanted to impress, after all. Besides, as Harry had to help lead off, she could not let him down. Her own hair was loose in a silvery aureole; she had filled out from the malnourished waif she had been when first she came to Hogwarts into a diminutive but definitely womanly young lady, and in her severe black velvet gown cut in the latest style but without any excesses she could have posed for a fashion picture in Witch Weekly. She was pleased with the efforts she had also put into Ron's robes, having found him with frayed sleeves half an hour before the ball where he had ripped off the unfashionable lace; she had repaired the hem and placed a colour charm on the repellent puce garment, making it a tasteful dark green that did not clash with Ron's effulgent mop.

Krait never knew how close Fleur Delacourt came to wanting to murder both her and Hermione. Hermione was conscious of her own attractiveness; Krait had done her best, but had no idea how she glowed when she looked around and saw Severus in his own made-over gown. He looked, she thought, very handsome; and his eyes met hers.

The moment was instantaneous; or maybe it lasted for hours: Krait felt she could drown in his regard and that there was nobody else in the room. Then he had pulled his eyes resolutely away with an enigmatic glare down his long nose; and turned to talk to Dumbledore.

-/-

One small victory, in Krait's mind, was how much better she looked than Pansy Parkinson. Pansy was dressed in a pink frilly thing, and had been quite self complacent until she saw Krait. Krait thought she looked like a pug emerging form a meringue. That there was some kind of quarrel between Pansy and Draco was also evident; Pansy was his partner, but kept darting him angry little looks. Draco looked gloomily satisfied about something, and actually looked more handsome than when wearing his usual smug self-congratulatory expression. Particularly from the point of view of someone who was by choice something of a Goth, a style Krait had chosen to express her individuality and because it annoyed the nuns originally. Krait chuckled to herself at the thought that he looked like the young vampire Lestat from Anne Rice's books, that she had read because they had been banned in the orphanage

The first dance went well enough. Harry had no clue about what he was doing; and Krait hardly more, so they made it up as they went along, which worked fine. Krait had a good sense of rhythm and pushed Harry where everything else seemed to think he ought to be going; and Harry seemed quite content to let her drive. After that they retired for a butterbeer.

Draco came over.

"Dance, Krait?" he asked.

"I have two left feet neither of which received any training" she warned him.

"I wanted to talk."

"Okay, don't moan if I stand on your pinkies then" said Krait cheerfully.

"You can't dance with HIM, he's a stinker!" protested Ron hotly.

"No-one's asking you to dance with him, Ron" said Krait equably. "I'll pick my friends where I choose, and you're one of them. So is Draco."

Draco nodded coldly to Ron and held out an arm to Krait, which she took, letting him lead her onto the dance floor.

Draco smiled thinly.

"You were right" he said.

"About what particularly?" she asked.

He pulled a face.

"Most things….I told Pansy this morning that I'd had an owl from my father telling me that he'd lost all his money and we were destitute….she had hysterics. Said she wouldn't partner a pauper… in the end I told her I was playing a practical joke on her…she didn't think it at all funny and she's barely talking to me."

"What a lucky escape!" said Krait.

"What?" Draco was aghast.

"You might have married her and found out she was only after the bulge in your trousers when it was a wallet full of galleons!" said Krait.

Draco flushed furiously.

"Krait!" he hissed. "That is just so vulgar!"

"So's Pansy" said Krait dryly. "You should have heard her at breakfast being catty about Professor Snape…I guess that was before you dropped your bombshell. Besides, why pussyfoot about the truth? A gold-digger is a gold-digger, it's an ugly vulgar way to describe such a woman – but it's an ugly vulgar sort of motivation for that matter. It was bravely done, Draco. I salute your fortitude."

He flushed.

"Thanks. I – I hoped you were talking through your hat. And if you were right about that, I had to accept that you are right about other things." He looked miserable.

Krait squeezed the hand she was holding in the dance.

"Draco, I want to find the Draco I think I can like who's hiding inside the little rich boy that looks like Draco Malfoy to the world. After the holidays we can explore that – and you can see how right I am while you're at home. And part of me hopes I may be wrong, you know."

He gave a twisted smile.

"Thanks" he said.

Draco wondered why Professor Snape should give him a searching and almost murderous look as he left Krait after the dance. He hadn't done anything!

-/-

Krait made her way to Severus' side.

"Enjoy your dance with Draco?" he asked very levelly. "He blushed a few times."

"Draco's got a few personal problems… he's an unhappy kid. I want to sort him out. He's not Deatheater material" said Krait.

"I see" said Severus.

"You haven't asked me to dance yet. Are you afraid I'll stand on your corns?" she asked.

"I don't have any…Krait!" he saw her grinning at him.

"That's a 'gotcha' if ever I pulled one….are you going to ask me to dance?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Of course."

He drew a deep breath.

"Will you do me the honour?"

Krait curtsied deeply.

"At your command, Domine" she said.

Severus caught his breath again; and took her lightly by the hand, encircling her tiny waist with his other arm.

He had learned to dance through years of Balls at Hogwarts; and he talked her through the basic steps. Krait was a fast learner, and soon settled down.

"I guess I feel like Eliza Doolittle" she muttered.

"Who?"

"Character in a play, got made into a film…I'm no Audrey Hepburn….Professor Higgins was a pedant, oh and how! But he was an irritating creature, certain all the time he was right, arrogant little twerp not nursing a poor self image like you….He made a bet that he could turn a street girl into a lady and fool the crowned heads of Europe. But of course she could never go back…like becoming a witch. Not that I'd ever want to go back, of course, but there are parallels…I'm babbling."

"Just a little. It's not like you."

She looked up at him, and blushed. He swallowed. It seemed foolish to pretend he did not know what she meant.

"You are so young" he said. "You never knew anyone that treated you with even civility… besides you are my ward and a pupil…..."

The dance music ended. He let go of her, bowing.

"Dance with one of your own age group" he said harshly.

Krait scowled at his hastily retreating back and stuck out her tongue. It was a childish gesture but it made her feel better. Several of her peers gasped and hoped for her sake Snape had not seen, and wondered privately what awful holiday task he had set the girl! Krait was unaware of their speculation; and would only have laughed had she been privy to it. She had her own concerns; and retreated outside for the cold night air to cool her hot face.

-/-

Severus firmly kept his back to the majority of the Great Hall for fully five minutes. When he turned around his eyes automatically sought Krait…he thought for a moment he saw her, laughing in a group of boys; but it was only the pale hair of the part veela, Fleur. His throat constricted; and he grabbed Draco as the boy passed, dancing with Pansy.

"Have you seen Krait?" he asked.

Draco paused; and Pansy glowered at him.

"I think she went outside sir" Draco said.

"Who was she with?"

"Nobody…she went out alone. I guess she's old enough to make an assignation without her guardian present, sir" said Draco, greatly daring. Severus glared at him, and stalked out.

"Poor Krait" murmured Draco. "Bad enough to have heavy parents, without having your heavy handed guardian teaching you as well."

Pansy expressed her unflattering opinion of Krait, especially when she intruded on the conversation of HER dance.

"She's right, you know" said Draco "I have had a lucky escape. You're shrill as well as being mercenary."

The conversation went right downhill from there and drowned out the music for several minutes.

-/-

Severus came upon Krait singing to herself in a clear, sweet voice. She had reached the last line of a song from 'My Fair Lady' and was busy declaring,

"I only know, when he began to dance with me, I could have dance-dance-danced all night."

Severus froze; and was about to depart hurriedly when, sensing his presence she turned. She hesitated; then held out her hands to him.

"It's insanity" he said, taking her hands in his.

"So's going up against my father….we both know we're quite likely to die, Severus, why shouldn't we have a little happiness first?" she demanded.

He wrapped his arms about her.

"You'll get cold out here." It was a good excuse to hold her close; if he needed one. He had not opened up to ANYONE since Lily… it was…. But…his thoughts were incoherent.

"So we either go in – away from that ruddy Ball – or we dance to keep warm. I could whistle."

"I can do better than that" he said. A quick pass of his wand, and the music played a fairy carillon echo of the Weird Sisters' efforts from within.

"Clever" murmured Krait, sliding her right hand into his left to dance.

"I like to please you" he said, hesitantly. "But it's still insanity. And improper. And... I do not have feelings for people."

"Mark me insane" she said. "You must know that I love you, Severus; what's improper in love? And don't give me any crap about not having feelings; you know that I know how to wrap mine up tight too so however much you act like a well-curled knarl I know what's under the prickles. You don't have to pretend to yourself; or to anybody else. It's just us."

"I love you" he said, surprising himself into the admission. She knew anyway. How come he had hidden it from Lily but he could not hide it from Krait? "I – feel all tongue tied and about sixteen….I never thought I could love anyone but Lily….but…."

She grinned.

"You know what they say… a man is just as old as the woman he feels…."

He blushed furiously.

"Krait! You never learned that in the convent!"

"I told you I had eclectic reading habits… I used to get regularly locked in the lending library overnight. It was like being in Heaven….if I broke out around dawn I could get back in plenty of time to hop into bed and rise with everyone else. Of course when I got babes to care for I had to curtail those trips. I'm a very good lockpick."

He laughed.

"You're very good at so many things…."

Krait chuckled.

"Haven't tried EVERYTHING yet" she said with a wicked little smile.

He blushed again.

"Must you disconcert me?"

"Mmm….it makes me feel braver and wickeder when I can make you blush." She confessed. "Besides dear, we can exploit it."

"Say that again"

"Which bit?"

"Dear…."

"You are my dear, Severus…."

"Exploit how?" he recalled her last comment.

"Rather than hide it, let him think he has control of you through me….let him think I am his to give or withhold. He will underestimate you if he thinks I am leading you around by the….well you know."

He blushed again.

"It is a good idea" he said. "I can call you my Princess, daughter of our Lord King….he will laugh at me making a fool of myself over you. He'd probably be right so to do" he added softly, with half a sneer at himself.. "As he laughed at me when I begged him to spare Lily, told me that women were easy enough to come by….he'll see that as proof of his own ideas. Krait, I'll never stop loving Lily but you…. I love you, I do not know how it crept up on me, but I do, however foolish…."

"Shh!" she put her fingers to his lips. "We were born for each other. Where else could either of us meet so perfect a mate? And how else could you get a chance to have some of the rearing of your bride?"

"Krait! You are truly outrageous!" he was half laughing; how could she make him go from frightened of his own feelings to laughing in so short a time?

"I'm so happy….it makes me dafter than usual" she said. "Though I suppose I'm jumping the gun describing myself as your bride…I should wait and see if I get asked." She looked up at him anxiously.

"Do you want to marry me?" he was half disbelieving.

"Yes of course I do….and raise lots of babies, if we live to do so" she said. "When can we be married?"

"Not until you are an adult, at seventeen…."

"Ridiculous! It's sixteen in the muggle world, with parental consent… and you ARE my guardian…..damn the ministry."

He laughed.

"I will wait until it is legal….."

"I don't want to get you into trouble…" she said "You're in a vulnerable position."

"Dumbledore will protect us from too much talk….if things get out of hand." He said, kissing each of her fingers in turn. "I – I do not want to rush things anyway…or do anything to frighten you…"

She leaned against him, well content.

"Let it be as it will be" she said. "I'm cold. Shall we go find your kettle for a cup of cocoa?"

-/-

Professor Dumbledore's sharp eyes were never likely to miss anything; and he had drawn several conclusions from his last talk with Severus.

After the Ball he knocked on the Potion Master's door.

Severus opened the door. He was already in his nightgown and had an uncharacteristically soft look on his harsh face.

"Ah, Severus, I wondered if Krait Day was still here" Dumbledore asked.

Severus shook his head.

"She went to bed almost an hour since….she doesn't like late nights. I expect she's asleep by now. Is there a problem?" he was alert, concerned.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No problem….it will wait. Sleep well, Severus."

He must speak with Krait before much longer….this could be the best thing that ever happened to Severus – or it could destroy him. Not that there was any way to truly alter feelings and emotions – love potions notwithstanding – but he wanted to know how the girl felt!

_author credits: Anne Rice 'Interview with a vampire' 'the vampire Lestat' etc ad nauseam_

_ George Bernard Shaw, 'Pygmalion' and its film version 'My Fair Lady' _


	17. Chapter 17

_I did my best with the Geordie accent, so any Geordies out there please don't take offence as it's not my native dialect__ and I've only been once to Geordieland_

**Chapter 17:** Spinner's End

Professor Dumbledore was careful to meet with Krait early the next morning. She wore her hair loosely caught back rather than her usual school style of rigid plaits and she was humming cheerfully to herself. She had bade farewell for the holidays to Myrtle – a courtesy the juvenile ghost had appreciated – and had fielded the tipsy compliments of the merry monks in their picture, preparing, by the look of it, to celebrate Christmas with plenty of tankards of good ale. That and her shared confidences of the previous evening with Severus left her almost as intoxicated with joy as the monks were with their painted liquor.

"Good morning sir!" she said cheerfully to the Headmaster.

"And a good morning to you too, Miss Day" he smiled. "Now I fear I must ask you an indelicate and rather old fashioned question!"

Krait put up her chin and tried not to look defiant. Dumbledore smiled reassuringly.

"I just wanted to ask what your intentions towards Professor Snape might be." He said gravely. Krait relaxed and twinkled solemnly at him.

"Oh thoroughly honourable, I assure you sir!" she said. "I propose to marry him as soon as he is old enough!"

Dumbledore laughed.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'd hate to think of Severus being hurt."

"So should I" she returned gravely. "He's fragile enough, it could destroy him."

Dumbledore shot her a look.

"I'd not realised you had got close enough to him to be aware of that my dear. If you understand him so well, I think that any concerns I have held are groundless. Indeed that it could give him the anchor he needs for the difficult work ahead of him, I feel that I could even praise your involvement with him as I should not normally do. He is talking about you partnering him undercover, you know. I'm not sure I can give you permission so readily for that."

Krait put her chin up.

"Then I'll have to get involved without it so you have to back up a _fait accompli_ sir, for I fully intend to help him….Fishface is my father, I have a responsibility to help rid the world of him. Severus is teaching me occlumency, and we have some nice schemes to get Fishface underestimating us. It would help greatly if you can tell me anything Severus does not know about my father; but if you choose to withhold that, I shall manage as best I can without."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a stubborn and insubordinate young lady?" Dumbledore asked. Krait shrugged indifferently.

"Any amount of nuns, priests and social workers" she said. "You think I'm a child; but I lost my childhood years ago. And even had I not, it were better that some of us choose to give up our childhoods to ensure that future generations get theirs."

Dumbledore regarded her thoughtfully.

"I see you have thought through this quite carefully" he said. Krait knew well that he was using legilimency to see further than her words.

"Yes sir" she said quietly. "And if you will now look you will see the surface layer I CAN project." She brought to her mind the resentments of her time in the orphanage; feelings that she was owed, wishing she need not be humiliated by poverty. "That can be built on with words for HIS benefit. To lie using some truth. I am no idiot, sir, nor would Severus let me loose on Fishface if he thought I were."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Very well. I will give you some background when you return." He added, "Severus says you plan to take Harry's blood to – Fishface, I like that, when he – you go."

Krait nodded.

"I want to read such as I may about how to make it seem good to my father yet be ultimately detrimental, if there are such treatises."

"If it is to the Order of the Phoenix he willingly gives his blood that ought to make the difference" Dumbledore said. "Though I suspect that the blood required by Fishface needs to be wrested from him."

"We can fulfil both; if Harry is prepared to give the blood, but I thump him in the nose to get a nosebleed" said Krait cheerfully. "We all have to make these little sacrifices, and it's his nose that'll hurt so I should care why?"

Dumbledore laughed.

"Spoken like a true Slytherin – but intentioned I think almost like a Gryffindor!"

"Sir! There's no need to be insulting!" she chuckled.

-/-

Pupils were being collected by parents to spend Christmas at home; and Severus had to wait to see all of his Slytherin who were leaving out of the castle. The magnificent coach drawn by four matched grey flying horses had the Malfoy arms emblazoned on the door; she recognised them from some of Draco's possessions. It was a showy arrival full of conspicuous consumption.

Krait gasped when she saw Lucius Malfoy when he emerged from the coach to look for Draco; and ran down the steps to intercept him, fumbling at the clasp of the locket she habitually wore on a chain with her Crucifix. She opened the locket and thrust the picture inside at Malfoy.

"What can you tell me about her?" she demanded.

Lucius looked haughtily down his nose and was about to tell this insolent girl to get lost: when he looked closer at her; and glanced down at the picture. His face froze.

"How do you come by a picture of my sister, girl?"

"Your sister? She wrote me that she had no siblings…this is my mother , taken not long before she died in childbirth…..her mother was dead and she said she thought her father must be too as he no longer visited after she was nine or ten…."

Lucius pursed his lips.

"What do you know of her father?" he asked sharply.

Krait pulled a face.

"Not a lot, Mr Malfoy….only that he had an unusual name, Abraxus. My mother did not recall if he ever mentioned his surname. That means something to you, doesn't it?"

Malfoy had paled.

"It is not a common name" he said harshly. "Your mother's mother – who was she?"

"I don't know" said Krait. "I mean, I don't know if she was a witch, because I was reared in a muggle orphanage. My mother's name was Aurora Day, and her aunt and uncle made her change it to 'Dawn' as less outlandish, so I should think they were awfully mugglish, like Harry's aunt and uncle. They wouldn't let her seek for her father's people, though she wrote and said he'd often told her mother to seek him out if she needed anything. I only know what she wrote to me when she was pregnant; and she never said much about her Uncle John and Aunt Mandy because she didn't like them. It was a rambling and discursive sort of missive, you know, and not very coherent, 'cos she knew she was going to die, I guess. Though I'm no seer myself."

Malfoy had a lot to digest.

"I will see what I can find out." He said with majestic magnanimity, turning to sweep off.

"My locket, if you please, sir" said Krait.

"I will keep it for the moment."

Krait scowled.

"Will you, hell! It's all I have of my mother – and you are wizard enough to make a copy of the picture by magic, surely?"

"You are impertinent"

"I? no, Mr Malfoy, you are impertinent!" Krait was angry by his sneering dismissal of her one sentimental tie. "You can find out if you please, but I DON'T CARE if I have Malfoy blood or not – I'M SLYTHERIN'S HEIR!"

She scooped up a handful of snow and Lucius prepared to contemptuously sweep aside a snowball with a flick of his elegant wand; but that was not Krait's intention. She had been paying great attention to the lessons on Switching Spells; and that was what she cast! Lucius Malfoy was left with a handful of soggy snow, and Krait had her precious locket back.

"Suck that!" she said.

Draco pulled his father's arm.

"Krait is You-know-who's daughter" he said urgently. "She's a Parselmouth and she is really powerful!"

Lucius shook his son's hand off his arm.

"Let us get home" he said, giving Krait a look between dislike and grudging respect.

-/-

"So much for keeping it quiet" said Severus quietly behind Krait. "I should think they heard you yell that claim at the Ministry building in London."

"Most people have gone….the rest weren't taking much notice" she said. "Besides, the silly creature I'm to play for HIM would be wanting to show off some…better to fool him than worry about who I antagonise here. Anyway, I've never gone out of my way to win friends and influenza people as they say…people who matter don't mind; and people who mind, don't matter. Can we go soon?"

He touched her face lightly, quickly; almost regretting it as he did so.

"Very soon" he said.

-/-

Krait and Severus walked into Hogsmeade; neither had a large bag of possessions. He took her hand.

"Clear your mind and don't fight the feeling. I don't want to leave half of you behind."

Krait shot a quick look at him to see if he were joking; and determined from his face that he was not. She flooded her mind with blankness.

There was a peculiar wrenching feeling and the scenery shifted. They stood on the banks of a dirty canal with lumps of ice forming around the upturned shopping trolleys.

"It's unpleasantly like being drunk.." she said.

"Now I don't believe that you've ever been drunk" Severus was sceptical. "Unless you got at the Eucharistic wine,,,"

"No, that never was one of my sins…I meant from the point of view of a glass of water…" she grinned at him.

Severus shook his head, laughing. She had done it to him again!

"Come on…up the bank."

They climbed the bank and scrambled over the railing at the edge, and I found herself gazing on a grim, industrial landscape of dingy terrace houses dwarfed by the derelict mill.

"I can see why you don't much like muggles, living in this sort of neighbourhood" she said. "Tough Northern types aren't the greatest recommendation for the human race…and where tough and hard drinking is considered manly, scholarship is considered weak."

"I grew up here" he said abruptly. "The house is the one thing my father left me…besides his debts to the Goblins, betting on Quidditch being the only thing he didn't despise about the wizarding world. House prices are too depressed here to manage to sell the house to pay off his debts, so I keep it as a place to store my books and escape at times from the pupils of I."

They were watched curiously by some rough looking youths in the street.

"Eh, Prof, brought one o' yeh posh pupils hoome fer a bit o' totty have yeh?" one of them called.

Severus burned.

"This is my ward, Miss Krait Day. Pray do not insult her."

The boy interpreted I's name to one he recognised.

"Kate, eh? Hey Katie, d'yeh want to come fer a wark wi' me?" he blew kisses.

"Thanks, but I've a pile of homework to get through" said Krait. "And cleaning out accumulated dust, lighting fires and getting a meal on."

"Cor, you do be a proper wumman as well as posh then!" the boy was quite impressed. Krait smiled, gave him a friendly nod and followed Severus inside as soon as he had unlocked the door.

"At least the place hasn't been vandalised, firebombed or broken into" she commented. "That kid was rough, but not so bad as I might have feared….respectful to you too in a perverse sort of way."

Severus grunted.

"The armour of language….they scoff at learning, but it does impress them too. Others might wince at my neighbourhood, but I suppose I am used to my muggle neighbours, and they to me." He waved a negligent wand and a fire burst into place in the narrow fireplace.

The door opened directly into the front room, which was dark and shabby. There was an elderly settee and an easy chair with an occasional table by it; and the walls were lined with books.

"I knew you'd have a cosy sort of den to live in" said Krait, happily, looking longingly at the books with twitching fingers. "Have we time to start a search for references before I need to put lunch on? No, I guess I'll have to shop first. Let me ferret in your kitchen." She went through the door into the back room and started peering into cupboards and drawers, standing back from an ageing fridge to mutter "_evanesco!"_ at something in there.

"It looked green but smelled sickly yellow" she explained.

"I left some bacon in there last time….after the Dark Mark was sent up at the world cup I had other things on my mind" he admitted.

"Understandable….have I a budget?"

Severus nodded and pulled a cash box out of a drawer. It was filled with muggle money.

"How long are we staying?" she asked.

"Overnight… no longer."

She nodded.

"I'll stock up on dried goods then, get you a tin or two of something to make a quick and easy meal next time we're here and get enough for a couple of meals" she said. "Point me at the nearest Co-op."

-/-

Krait chatted easily to people in the Co-op; they were not threatening, these people, only nosy. She explained that she was Professor Snape's ward, and they would be gone shortly because she had a hospital appointment to deal with a bronchial infection that refused to clear. Her willingness to talk and lack of snobbery helped to make a good impression on Severus' neighbours, even if they pitied her amongst themselves as like to lead a bleak life with Mr Sarcasm!

-/-

Severus sat back from the meal Krait had prepared and sighed happily.

"You are fearfully managing, Krait, but the results are worth it" he said. "And you know how to shop frugally too!"

"Good training" she shrugged. "Besides, I have to impress you to make sure you keep on thinking of me as your future wife."

He laughed, then sighed, gazing at her with longing.

"Oh I do….Krait, that's dangerous ground… let's apply ourselves to research."

She nodded, though she picked up the plates to take to wash up first. Severus snorted, flicked his wand a couple of times, and the cleaned crockery obediently piled itself up and floated through into the kitchen.

"I do like the practical applications of magic" approved Krait. "Allows the fun things like creative cookery and sewing, and does the boring dirty chores like washing up. Nice."

Severus selected several books from the shelves and passed a couple to her.

"There's a chapter in the first…the other has obscure references scattered through it, you'll want to make notes."

Krait nodded, and took out the biro and notepad she had got whilst at the Co-op.

"Less cumbersome than parchment" she said half apologetically. "Besides, quills make me cough and sneeze."

He shrugged.

"It's the notes that count…you can write on toilet paper with blood for all that it matters so long as you can read it" he said.

"I'd love to see your face if I turned in an essay on such a medium" she chuckled; and turned herself seriously to her studies. Severus gazed at her for a long moment, curled up with her legs underneath her in his easy chair, her hair falling about her shoulders like a sunlit waterfall. It reached her knees when it was loose, he now knew; for she had never had it cut. He sighed quietly to himself and made an effort to concentrate.

-/-

There was little enough about Blood Magic in any of the books. Enough was implied to suggest that a mix of body components from friend, foe and kin would make an efficacious restorative to one who had been seriously damaged; confirming Severus' guesses about the intentions of Tom Riddle. There was also a passage that read,

"Blood, freely exchanged, may be profound indeed but the price of tying two so closely is a shared lifespan. Yet the wounds of the one may be shared by each; it has been used to survive childbed, without full understanding, only for one parent to later die and be followed instantly to the grave by the spouse and in some cases the child also."

"Interesting, but not much use" said Krait, reading it out. "Though it carries an implication that if Harry dies so does Fishface, and vice versa."

Severus held out his hand for the book and re-read the passage.

"Obscure, but it seems to me that the key word is 'exchange'….Harry is donating his blood, not tying himself with an exchange. This is closer to what happened the night Harry acquired your father's powers….he feels something that links him to his dark counterpart. We have to accept the possibility that, regardless of us taking blood to - we should refer to him as the Dark Lord, to be sure of thinking it when we meet him – that if – when – we kill the Dark Lord, Harry may well die too as so much of his being is tied to him."

"Not nice." Said Krait. "I suggest we may not wish to burden Harry with that yet. Though I think he's being kept awfully in the dark about things."

Severus shrugged.

"Not my idea. Dumbledore also doesn't want to 'burden' him… I'm inclined to think it's easier to face things if you know what's coming, but he made us swear not to tell the lad. I had an interesting conversation with him when you were sleeping after – after the cruciatus and I'm inclined to think he's grown up a lot in the last year….he's certainly older in himself than his father was even in the sixth form. I wish I could tell him more, I think it would help his chances of survival. "

"Never made you swear not to tell me, did he?" grinned Krait. "Nor have I sworn not to tell Harry."

"Sophistry" said Severus. "But one I like…he should know of the risk of death from killing the Dark Lord."

"But not until this ruddy competition is over" said Krait. "It's a flaming nuisance, Harry being obliged to be involved with that when we could have done with access to his occasionally rather limited wits uncontaminated by stupid puzzles. We have to work together; and if you ask me, we could do with more cooperation from other members of this Order of the Phoenix before we sling ourselves headfirst into clear and present danger. Though if they start to move, that alerts His Dark Skankiness as well…"

Severus chuckled.

"I love your descriptions of him….yes, they are all known to him. If they behave in any way out of the ordinary, he will find out. Except one…." His nostrils flared. "The man I dislike almost as much as James Potter…. But if he was loyal, and Harry trusts him….we need to contact Sirius Black" he groaned "And you have no idea how much that admission had to be dragged from me by necessity."

"Oh I can guess….. Mr Heartiness Numero Duo. And he may make a fuss about working with you too; but you've got a life so you can afford to be polite and not rise" she said.

"TRY not to manipulate me" said Severus dryly "Though being told I have a life, if a trifle colloquial, is preferable I suppose to having Albus praise my courage when he wants me to do something I don't want to do."

"I'm practising being married to you; it's in the rules that the power behind a great man manipulates him slightly" said Krait, not troubling to deny it. He knew her well enough. "Besides, it was more of a reminder that you have enough to be able to get over old enmities; like you'd remind me not to get in a funk over meeting Sister Agatha."

"I….. I see" he said. "Then I thank you; some things do run deep, and a timely reminder…. Not that I know how to contact him."

"Harry may know how….but being wanted, isn't he going to be a bit obvious prowling around near the school?" she asked.

Severus gave a not entirely pleasant smile.

"Oh, but he's an animagus….they all were, to keep company with Remus Lupin in werewolf form. Sirius took his name seriously and became a dog. And why should I not get a pet dog to guard the Potions cupboard, after those thefts by Barty Crouch? Am I not well known for being paranoid, suspicious and even, er, cranky?"

"Nice!" approved Krait. "And if he pisses me off because he can't be civil to you, think of all those revoltingly smelly flea treatment baths dogs need to take…" she grinned wickedly.

"My dear, I do like the way you think!" he said, chuckling at the thought.

_I've just been alerted that this chapter was randomly changing names to I which is something my laptop does occasionally or picks a random name and changes everything to that, thought I'd checked them all, sorry! Alert me if it happens again_

_Jan2014, there were still random 'I' for both Severus and Krait, I think I've sorted that all out now. Please let me know if the dratted thing misbehaves again. _


	18. Chapter 18

_Adult themes __M rating_

**Chapter 18: **A busy start to Christmas

Krait and Severus packed a couple of the books that seemed to contain the most information; and settled down for the night. Krait had the settee with the same arguments she had used before, and the snake Septimus curled up in front of the fire.

It was in the early hours that Krait awoke, shivering. Her hot water bottle had cooled, and the fire gone out; and Septimus sat on her chest with a reproachful look on his scaly face.

"It's too early to get up" Krait told him. "And I already tried the warming charm I used on Moody and it didn't last very long. I guess I've misunderstood the fundamentals. Let's go and put our feet…uh, tail, in your case…on Severus."

She wound her pet about her thin shoulders and took him upstairs, and slid into bed beside Severus. She was soon fast asleep, snuggled up beside him.

-/-

Krait awoke hearing her name spoken in surprised shock. She was back to Severus, tucked up against him, and not entirely comfortable.

"We were cold, Septimus and I" she said by way of explanation. "And I couldn't make a warming charm last…..Dratted snake, he's comfortable enough I dare say, but he's a hard lump…I'll just move him." She reached down to shift her pet, and a strange expression came over her face. Her hand froze.

"Th-that's not Septimus" she said.

"No" Severus spoke in a strangled voice, turning over hurriedly away from her.

Krait turned towards him, one hand on his shoulder, the other stroking his hair.

"Severus, love…." She said.

"My love, you affect me so much….I'm not made of iron" he said through clenched teeth.

She gave a low chuckle.

"PART of you thinks it is…"

"Krait!" he managed.

"I – I want to touch on purpose…." She ran her hand down his side.

He rolled out of bed defensively.

"I dare not let you…." He climbed onto the bed outside the covers, pushing her down, held within the bedclothes. "I want you…." Then he was kissing her hard, ruthlessly. Krait moaned softly and lifted herself against his weight; and wrapped her fingers in his long hair. It was a long time before he lifted his mouth from hers with a hoarse cry; and looked down at her.

"Ah, what am I to do?" he asked.

"Get back under the covers before you catch your death of cold, love" she advised.

He laughed shakily.

"So practical and sensible… I fear to be too close to you. And I can cast warming charms…."

"That's as may be; why not get under all the covers but the sheet? That should be safe." She pulled back the blankets and held out her arms invitingly. He came to them, making sure the sheet lay between them; and she cradled him closely, exultantly. He stroked her face.

"This damn house is cold and damp" he said. "I'm not surprised you found the warming charm hard; the damp counteracts it as well, unless you add a drying component."

"It's unlived in…we'll give it a thorough airing in the long summer holidays" she said. "Septimus has half-inched your bottle….you'll have to rely on me to warm you up; I bet I can do it better than warming charms."

He shivered pleasurably.

"You do…damn, I didn't mean to go down that road of thoughts again…."

"According to all the biology books I've read, they're supposed to die after they've delivered" said Krait, curiously, feeling against her through the sheet the reactions his thoughts had caused.

"Maybe the biology book writers didn't have so beautiful a lover…" and then he was kissing her again, his hands touching her breasts as she responded to his caresses.

It was later in the morning than they had intended before they breakfasted and prepared to leave for London; and neither cared that much.

-/-

Krait was fascinated by St Mungo's.

It looked like nothing more than an empty apartment store with a rather bedraggled looking mannequin in the window in a sad state of dishabille. Severus addressed the mannequin and they passed though the window where it became apparent that the mannequin was properly, even starchily dressed and was the receptionist in a busy and bustling reception area. There were signs directing visitors to all sorts of magical healing departments which judging by the lost look on the faces of some of the visitors trying to find their way around were about as helpful as those in muggle hospitals.

The small boy who sported a permanent flow of goldfish coming from his mouth was being hurried by his mother to the Curse Breaking Department; and the wizard with smoke pouring out of his leg being carried magically by an orderly was headed for 'Magical Accidents' with his wife telling him loudly that she had TOLD him not to keep his wand in his back pocket.

Severus smoothly escorted Krait to a department that dealt with respiratory complaints. Here they waited behind a wizard whose every breath was a loud and piercing whistle and a witch with a nasty cough and scorched eyebrows who was explaining between coughing that she had tripped and spilled too much salamander blood into her strengthening solution and it had blown up in her face.

-/-

Krait also discovered that wizarding healers could be just as irritating as muggle doctors when it was her turn and the healer waved his wand over her.

"Your parents should have brought you to us long ago" he said accusingly.

"Item; my father abandoned my mother before I was born; item; she died on birthing me" said Krait, crisply. "Not all people have parents, you know. And the muggle orphanage I grew up in was scarcely like to bring me here, now, was it?"

"Then you should have been brought as soon as you started school!" he stared accusingly at Severus.

Severus sniffed.

"Hugin Edgecombe, you always were a fool" he said "Clever as a bag load of monkeys and with as much common sense. Never could bother to learn facts before you jumped to conclusions, could you? I see you've not changed any since I last saw you."

The Healer flushed a dull red.

"What am I to assume if the child has not been brought to me until she is what, fourteen or fifteen?" he said. "She should have come when she first started at Hogwarts; a competent housemaster would have seen to it."

"Which he did since I only started at Hogwarts halfway through this last term; and I'm sixteen thank you; just petite" snapped Krait. "Everything has been done in the wizarding world as it should have….I did not want to take time out from lessons with so much to catch up, and besides I neglected to inform staff of my problem, not realising that you might be able to cure it. Is it too late for your skills? Is that what you are trying to tell me? That my condition is beyond you?"

The healer bridled.

"It certainly is NOT beyond my skills" he snapped back. "It would have saved you years of pain and discomfort had it been done earlier. That was all I meant"

Krait shrugged.

"Well, that was out of the control of me or Professor Snape. Man is born to sorrow as the sparks fly upward" she said philosophically. "When you fix it, will I be able to play the flute?"

"Assuredly!" the healer declared.

"Remarkable!" she enthused. "Without even ever having learned….wonderful medicine!"

Edgecombe spluttered several half sentences until he realised that she had been having a joke at his expense; then performed the magical healing in offended silence.

"You are such a naughty girl" said Severus as they left. "And how glad I am…he was a most irritating Ravenclaw junior when I was studying for OWLs; James Potter told him I was a Vampire and he believed it without any other confirmation, nor did he stop to consider that even if I were, I was still accepted as a pupil. He squirted me with garlic juice. I turned his ears into cabbages as I recall, to reflect what was normally between them… horrid little boy."

"He was accusing you of neglect too…. I couldn't stand by and let him. So, will you have to spank me if I'm naughty?"

It was Severus' turn to splutter, blushing violently

**-/-**

They took a visit to Ottery St. Catchpole before visiting the orphanage; for Severus assured Krait that Arthur Weasley was the man to see about getting the requisite forgeries of muggle documents to ensure that Severus was given care of Jade and Lydia without quibble.

Arthur was surprised and wary to see the dour potions master. And even more surprised that he had his ward in tow. Ron had been cautious about how much he told his parents; and his mother had, in any case, wanted to hear about Harry and his ordeal with the dragon. Ron was not that sure that he wanted to place any trust in Severus, even if Harry HAD said that they understood each other better now. He concentrated on looking as inconspicuous as possible, not helped by Krait wishing him and Ginny and the twins a cheerful 'Merry Christmas'.

Fred and George celebrated Severus' arrival with an impromptu firework display with fireworks they had been inventing. Severus raised an eyebrow as a large blue fiery dragon flapped about his head.

"Ingenious…if you only put the effort into your lessons that you put into playing the fool, you could be great potioneers, both of you."

"We don't want to be potioneers, Professor, we want to run a joke shop!" said Fred earnestly.

Molly tutted.

Severus elevated his eyebrow a notch further.

"Why am I not surprised….if you put a modicum of effort into your work, however, you might pass highly enough to be able to go on to take a N.E.W.T in potions and open up yet further possibilities in your er, ambitions." He paused. "I can't believe I just did something so masochistic as to invite you two to work hard enough to get myself saddled with you for a further two years" he said, sounding faintly horrified. "Your house has too much Christmas spirit I suppose….I'm becoming contaminated."

Fred and George beamed at him happily.

"What can I do for you, Severus?" Arthur asked.

"I need some muggle papers forged… and fairly quickly. Has Ronald told you about Krait's experiences in the orphanage she came from?"

"Something…" said Arthur. "I'm not sure he wasn't exaggerating though."

"He wasn't exaggerating" said Severus, quietly, dangerously. "I'm quite certain the boy doesn't know the half of it…though he's seen some of the results. Krait, show Arthur and Molly your back."

Krait obediently showed the scars. Molly gave a little scream and put her hands to her mouth. Arthur swore,

"Merlin's Beard!"

"Quite" said Severus, his eyes glittering. "There are two little ones there that Krait is fond of….I want them out. I want papers of adoption, difficult because their father is alive, in a muggle prison, for killing their mother."

"You'd better give me all the details you have" said Arthur. "I'll have the papers for you as soon as possible. Tomorrow if I can."

"Excellent" said Severus. "We'll come back tomorrow to find how you're getting on."

"Certainly not, Severus, you must stay with us" said Molly.

"MUM!" Ron expostulated.

"Don't be selfish, Ron" admonished Molly. "That child is all in, and Severus looks tired too. Are you sleeping properly?" she asked kindly.

Severus managed to keep a bland face and Krait found the toe of her shoe suddenly very interesting.

"I've a few things on my mind, Molly" he said. "Not least that our old enemy is stirring again…and I've to prepare for the same job again."

Molly started.

"Is it fair to take children into your family in those circumstances?" Arthur asked.

"Is it fair to leave them where they are without someone to take them out – the place swallows magical emanations, Krait tells me she taught them spells she'd worked out for herself but neither she nor they appear in the book – when they could be established as my daughters at Hogwarts under the eye of Dumbledore?" Severus countered.

"They could come to me" suggested Molly.

"Don't think I don't appreciate that – and believe me, I daresay I'll wish to have taken you up on it, I know nothing of five and six year old mites – but they know Krait and trust her. that's more important right now. If…if things go seriously wrong and I become….unavailable…..you'll take care of them then, perhaps."

"Of course, Severus" said Molly warmly. "Come along, Krait, you look like you could use a nap before tea, I'll fix a bed in Ginny's room."

-/-

Krait was glad of the nap; the healing had been tiring, and neither she nor Severus HAD slept much from about four o'clock that morning. She awoke to Ginny bringing her a cup of tea.

"That stuff the grown ups were being all obscure about is about You-know-who, isn't it?" asked Ginny.

"Fishface? Yeah. And him trying to do things to Harry through the Triwizard competition. That's all sorted though, he's in no more danger now than any other idiot who's involved."

Ginny blushed.

"Don't you call Harry an idiot!" she cried.

Oh, that's the way it is, is it? Thought Krait. She shrugged and said,

"He's a boy, isn't he? I rather thought that qualifies automatically for idiotship…"

Ginny's scowl lessened.

"I thought it was because you were a Slytherin…"

"No, I'm quite impartial. I dislike almost everybody equally."

Ginny giggled.

"That sounds like you're training to become Snape….what did he mean, the same old job?"

Krait gave her a searching look. Ginny stamped her foot.

"I'm entitled to know! I've been POSSESSED by You-know-who!"

"You're entitled to know…NOTHING" said Krait. "Ah…film quote. It's not my secret to tell. If you told somebody something in confidence, would you expect them to blab?"

Ginny dug her toe into the carpet.

"I guess not….Is it true that he's your father?"

"Fishface? Yes."

Ginny stared aghast.

"I meant Snape…" she whispered. "You mean…"

"I mean Fishface" said Krait firmly. "Less mystique than You-know-who. He fascinated my mother….a bit like possession, I'd not be surprised. It's why I get told some things….You should be taught resistance techniques. If he's used you before it might be easier for him to use you again. And, I'm sorry, another good reason to keep you more than anyone in the dark, at least until you've learned to resist."

Ginny pulled a face.

"Mum just wants me to put it behind me…she'd never agree."

"And you would bother to tell her why?" queried Krait.

Ginny grinned.

"You're all right" she said.

-/-

The idea of having Professor Snape to stay during their family Christmas holiday was not met with universal joy in the Weasley family. Molly was always eager to mother everybody; Arthur was prepared to meet almost anyone half way. Percy was ready to suck up to someone so recently a teacher of his, and Fred and George were wary but thought the whole business a real laugh. There were of course very few things the twins did NOT think a real laugh. Bill was less happy; Charlie, of course had duties that kept him in Romania. And Ron and Ginny viewed the situation with little short of dismay.

What Severus thought he rarely gave away; being civil enough, but not outgoing. Krait viewed him thoughtfully after breakfast, after Arthur had left to see about forgeries.

"You need to bend down quickly, Domine" she said.

Severus bent, quickly, anticipating some kind of flying missile.

"Why?" he asked.

Krait danced up to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"'Cos you're standing under the mistletoe and I'm too short to take advantage of that if you don't bend down" she said.

Severus reddened.

"I believe I should immediately rectify that, er, inopportune locality" he said, stepping hastily to one side. Krait grinned.

"Gotcha, though" she said.

He shook his head, smiling ruefully.

"Happy now?"

"Oh yes!" she beamed.

Ron stared, open mouthed. Surely he had not just seen that – Snape being kissed by Krait and not turning her into a toad? And he was smiling even! What was going on?

-/-

Ginny involved Krait in collecting fairies to decorate their Christmas tree, and the older girl quickly made pretty dresses for the little creatures to wear out of scraps of sparkling cloth an indulgent Molly fished out of her rag bag. Ginny was fascinated by Krait's skill and tiny stitches.

"You're not using magic are you?" she asked anxiously " – to make those stitches so small? Only if you're under seventeen it's banned…"

Krait laughed.

"Only the magic even a muggle can do called hard work and practise. Some things done the muggle way can be done better than the wizarding way, I've seen Hermione knit with spells and it's nothing on what a really skilled knitter can do, and magical sewing is er, rather crude" she modified what she had been going to say as Molly was listening.

The fairies loved their sparkling clothes and preened, enjoying being arranged where they might best show off and indulge their vanity.

"Of course they'll get bored eventually and fly off, and probably soon pull their dresses off because they're not comfortable in clothes for long" said Ginny, philosophically "But it's pretty while it lasts…thanks Krait."

"Y'welcome" said Krait "Glad to do something to pay for my board and lodging" and she smiled cheerily.

_**Can it possibly be that I have issues with moronic doctors!**_


	19. Chapter 19

_Mention of c__ruelty to children warning. This is just over half way through the story if anyone is interested._

**Chapter 19: **Jade and Lydia

Krait joined in a game of exploding snap with Ron and Ginny after lunch; and it was not long before the game got noisy and excited, and the younger Weasleys forgot the potions master sitting in the corner of the kitchen. They were still playing when Arthur returned, papers in hand but an angry expression on his face. He banged the door, a sufficiently unusual occurrence to stop everyone else in their tracks.

"What the blazes are you up to, Severus?" he shouted.

"What do you mean, Arthur?" Severus was puzzled.

"I want to know what plan you're hatching with two little Malfoys!" said Arthur, scowling.

"Malfoys?" Severus stared. "Are you sure?"

Arthur blinked.

"You didn't know?" he calmed down perceptibly.

Severus shook his head.

"That's bizarre….it looks like Krait may be Draco's cousin….Lucius' niece – her mother's photo looks just like his sister….CAN it be coincidence? I don't like coincidence… are you certain, Arthur?"

Arthur Weasley nodded.

"It's on the birth certificate, father Jonathon Malfoy. And if they have the talent…"

"Not necessarily so much of a coincidence….if you take the simplest explanation" said Krait, quietly. "And often the simplest explanation turns out to be true."

"Go on" said Severus.

Krait swallowed nervously as everyone stared at her and she flushed.

"If Abraxus Malfoy was poking one woman in East London, why not more than one?" she said. "That gives the possibility of loads of half breed Malfoys….by the laws of averages, some might become orphaned. He kept in contact with my mother and her mother until my mother was nine, so some might have taken his name…"

"It's not a nice word, 'poking' dear" said Molly disapproving.

"It's not a nice thing to have done to our female ancestors" said Krait. "Men make love to their wives – or the women they intend to make their wives – or conceivably their mistresses; sorry, no pun intended; but they poke casual liaisons. He may have taken some interest but why not more?"

"Because he died of dragon pox" said Arthur. "suddenly and rather unexpectedly."

"Did Lucius murder him?" asked Krait interested.

"Krait dear!" said Molly.

"Highly probable" said Severus.

"Severus, do you have to encourage her to lose her innocence?" asked Molly.

"Innocence? Krait? She was born cynical" Severus raised both eyebrows and looked down his nose. "She comes out with things that shock me, I assure you."

Krait shrugged.

"I was reared in a convent. I've got used to the seamy side of life" she said. "The kids in the orphanage are often damaged – from broken homes; sexually abused; physically abused, though that doesn't change inside the home from Hell; frightened and alone. Jade and Lydia SAW this Malfoy father of theirs murdering their mother. Jade was four, Lydia three. People aren't nice. Most people spend their marriage trying to hurt their spouse, playing games; and the kids learn to play off one parent against the other, especially when they're going through divorce. I can't get over how naïve wizarding kids are, I don't know if it's because Hogwarts is essentially a school for posh kids or if you really don't have as much divorce in the wizarding world; but there are miserable kids there with parenting troubles. Draco Malfoy for one, poor little sprout. You have a close happy family here, it gives me hope that such things are truly possible. But please, Mrs Weasley, don't assume that all of us are as lucky as your children or as sheltered."

Arthur cleared his throat.

"The point is, these children bear the surname Malfoy. It ought, officially, to be Lucius' business."

"NO!" said Krait.

"Not, I think, in their best interests" said Severus.

"I agree totally!" Molly's eyes sparkled with anger. "I don't even know how you can suggest such a thing, Arthur!"

Arthur looked uncomfortable.

"I thought I ought to mention it…."

"They will be changing their surnames to Snape" said Severus, firmly. "Lucius need never know. Have you got the papers?"

Arthur nodded.

"I'm sorry I doubted your motives, Severus."

Severus shrugged.

"I can see why anyone might. I'd have been taken aback in your shoes if it had been the other way about." He looked around. "Thank you for your hospitality, Molly, Krait and I will be on our way and leave your family in peace. Oh, and Arthur" he pointed above Molly's head "She's standing under the mistletoe."

Molly giggled and Krait and Severus left whilst Molly made it quite clear to Arthur that she expected him to take advantage of her location.

-/-

"I like them a lot" said Krait wistfully. "Ron is awfully lucky….and I don't think he realises how much. Can we have a nice big family like Molly and Arthur if we survive?"

"Would you like that?" Severus was half surprised.

She nodded.

"We're both only children, though in some respects I had a huge number of pseudo siblings….only there's no fixed population in an orphanage, people got adopted so it didn't do to get too close in case you lost your friends."

"I'm surprised you were never adopted…you are beautiful, you must have been a sweet looking baby and toddler. That's what influences people isn't it?"

She shrugged.

"I also had an unmarried mother…with Catholic families that can be an influence, bad blood you know…Sister Agatha delighted in telling people I was a child of Satan, though bearing in mind who my father is she wasn't so far off at that….and I used to stare at people because I was born suspicious, I guess it put some folk off."

He laughed, though he slipped an arm comfortingly about her.

"You do have a disconcerting stare." He agreed.

She grinned back.

"Sounds like Gilbert and Sullivan…there's that chap who was always ready with a crushing repartee….he had an irritating chuckle and a celebrated sneer and…I can't remember the rest."

"An entertaining snigger and a fascinating leer" supplied Severus. "King Gama from Princess Ida…I rather like the old rogue"

"I recall the sentiments of the song…my love you go out of your way to be thought a disagreeable man like that same Gama….."

"And if you recall, he is brought to his knees by King Hildebrand who gives him everything he wants and has all his people agree with the old curmudgeon….'whene'er I poke sarcastic joke replete with malice spiteful, this people mild politely smiled and voted me delightful! Now when a wight sits up all night ill-natured jokes devising and all his wiles are met with smiles, it's hard, there's no disguising'" he sang "And blast it, Krait, it's what you've done to me….smiling brightly at my best scowl, enjoying my most vicious detentions….and I even enjoy it!"

Krait laughed.

"Poor love….to be viciously loved, liked and wanted with malice aforethought!" she grinned. "ah my dear, how I adore you!"

Severus jerked her into his arms and kissed her hard, longingly.

"Never let me go, Krait!" he begged.

"Never….you're mine!" she told him, clinging to him as hard as he clung to her. Muggles in the street stared, but they were oblivious to anything but each other. Most of the looks were kindly, indulgent of lovers, though a few eyebrows raised at the age gap, emphasised by Krait's tiny frame. Laughing in sheer joy they broke apart and carried on hand in hand, sobering up only as they rode the tube to the stop for the orphanage.

-/-

Krait slipped a cold hand into Severus' as they walked towards the orphanage.

"They can't keep you inside" he reassured her "And if anyone tried, I'd take the place apart brick by brick if I had to to get you out. MY reminder to you as you remind me I need not rise to Black."

"I – know that in my head, dear" she said "But my guts haven't caught up with logic yet."

"My dear girl, you are planning to defy the most notorious dark wizard in the world. By comparison a few nuns should pose you with no more than an aperitif."

Krait managed a chuckle at that.

"Ain't that what Vampires have? A pair o' teef?" she quipped.

He groaned and laughed.

"THAT was dreadful!"

-/-

Severus reflected that it was an indication of the place that even decked for Christmas, a big Christian celebration, the orphanage still felt bleak and forbidding.

"I'll go and place the papers before the, er, Penguin" he said "You get the little girls, I want them out of here as quickly as possible."

Krait nodded and veered off for the playroom as he headed for the office.

She found Lydia soon enough, the child's blonde ringlets tangled and her face tearstained. The child threw herself into Krait's arms.

"Mummy Augusta! You've come back!"

"I've come to take you and Jade away from here. Where is she?" Krait asked.

"Augusta, don't tell lies" the nun in charge of the playroom said sharply.

"Sister Helen, don't bear false witness" said Krait. "My Guardian is with Mother Superior with all the papers right now. Where is Jade? She needs to pack."

"She – she's still being punished" said Sister Helen, not the most forceful of the nuns. She quailed before the new and forceful Krait that drew herself up to her full five foot and stared down her nose.

"She's in the cupboard!" sobbed Lydia.

"Not for long" said Krait, grimly, taking Lydia by the hand and marching out.

The cupboard locked with a key and a latch; it was easy to unlatch from the outside. This place swallowed magical emanations; Krait knew she could not get into trouble with the Ministry for casting spells in here. She half debated blowing the door right off; but prudently contented herself with a simple, whispered "_Alohamora"_. Jade's frightened but defiant eyes blinked in the sudden unexpected light. Krait lifted her out.

"What is going on here? I gave no orders to release the sinful child!"

It was Sister Agatha, Krait's arch enemy. She took one look at Krait and screeched in harpy-like satisfaction.

"YOU! I knew nobody in their right mind would keep you, you wicked girl! You'll regret your sinning, you daughter of Satan!" froth formed on her lips and her eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure as she contemplated the punishments she would enact on Krait for her deficiencies.

The temptation to use the Cruciatus Curse was almost overwhelming; but Krait resisted it.

"I'm better than that" she muttered to herself. She had a better idea. "_Corvus_" said Krait, clearly and coldly. Sister Agatha disappeared and a fluttering black crow appeared in her place.

It was at that moment that Severus came out of the office, his face like thunder but still speaking quietly.

"I don't care if the child is in punishment, I need to take them both right away, I have family business in Scotland and they need to be ready to travel. What can a six year old do that can require much punishment anyway?"

Mother Superior was saying,

"I am afraid that Jade is a recalcitrant child, who is unamenable to discipline…I would prefer you came back tomorrow."

"We leave now" said Krait. "never mind their clothes, we can buy more. Jade was in the cupboard."

Severus cast a quick glance at the crow, and raised an eyebrow. Krait shrugged.

"What is that nasty bird doing in here?" asked Mother Superior. "Shoo!"

Sister Agatha was disinclined to shoo, she kept croaking at Mother Superior.

"I'll have to put things to normal" said Severus apologetically to Krait "or the ministry will take a dim view. They'll find out eventually; or at least we have to assume they will."

"Can't you leave her with nightmares?" asked Krait viciously.

"I'll try" he said. He had his wand out in an instant to restore Sister Agatha; and made a quick pass in front of the faces of the two nuns.

"Goodbye" he said, firmly. "Come along, girls!"

Krait grabbed the children's coats and they left hurriedly.

"It will not be hard to burglarise the place for their possessions tonight" remarked Severus. "Especially as you know the, er, joint so we don't have to, er, case it."

Krait grinned.

"You're free, kids" she said. "And this is your new daddy, a proper daddy who's going to love you and take care of you."

"Is he a wizard?" asked Jade. "He had a wand and he turned the old baggage back again after you ensorcelled her."

"He is indeed" said Krait "And I am now a witch; and so will you be when you grow up. I was taken to Hogwarts School of Wizards and Witches; but I came to collect you now it's the holidays. The flame spell I showed you is just the start – but you're not supposed to learn until you're bigger. But all my witch and wizard friends will help care for you!"

"Sister Agatha was silly as a crow" said Lydia. "If he's our new daddy are you going to marry him and be our mummy?"

"Yes love" said Krait. "Jadie, I know you remember your real mummy, so if you want to call me Krait – that's my new name – that's fine by me."

Jade thought about it.

"Do I have to decide right away and stick with it forever'n'ever?" she asked.

Krait shook her head.

"No, love, you can always change your mind – and take as long as you need to decide."

"Do I have to call him daddy right away?"

"No of course not. His name is Severus if you like that better."

Jade thought about things some more.

"I shan't call him anything until I know him." She said. "Then I won't have to change my mind and I'll know exactly who he is."

"Whatever you like Jade" said Severus. Poor child she was far too old for her age already! "Now I'm going to have to pick you up to take you to your new home by magic."

"Will it help if I think pictures of Hogsmeade?" asked Krait.

"Greatly" he said. "Taking three passengers, even if two are miniature and one is a half pint is going to be interesting."

-/-

The apparating went perfectly; and they hurried to get the children out of the cold. Krait bathed them both to help them warm up; and cast _episkey_ on the most recent weals on Jade's back. Then she settled down to sort out their hair. Jade's straight, brownish blonde hair was relatively easy; Lydia's curls were a nightmare.

"Who's been so neglecting you?" Krait demanded.

"Ruth doesn't love us like you always did" said Jade "She makes us do our own hair, but Lydia can't and I get in trouble for trying to help 'cos it makes me late."

"Ruth? She's as much use as a chocolate cauldron!" said Krait, scornfully. "She's lazy and inept, and she can barely walk and speak at the same time!"

Severus came over.

"You need an untangling charm" he said, pointing his wand at Lydia's curls. The child flinched.

"Please don't turn me into anything!" she cried.

"If you do I'll bite you!" said Jade.

"Silly girls, I have no intention of turning either of you into anything!" Severus was taken aback. "I'm going to use a spell to get rid of those tangles so it won't hurt." He flicked his wand with a quick word; and Krait grinned.

"THAT's what I call useful" she said. "Are there hair brushing spells too?"

Severus looked surprised.

"Of course…there's a whole range of grooming spells, for hair care, shaving, manicure….how come you can do all the complex stuff and never picked up on the everyday things?"

Krait shrugged.

"Blinded by the obvious I suppose. I'll soon rectify that though! I take half an hour to do my hair…if I can sort it in minutes with a spell it gives me so much more time!" she winked at the girls "And that means more time at night for a bedtime story, doesn't it?"

Lydia nodded enthusiastically; Jade nodded thoughtfully.

"You can sleep in the dormitory with me for now" said Krait "And share a bed. They're big enough. We'll sort out larger quarters another time when you're settled."

-/-

Severus equipped an unused dungeon near his Potions room as a play room, with old toys the Weasley children had grown out of willingly donated by Molly to start it off; for Severus had gone back to Catchpole St Ottery to beg suitable outgrown clothes and toys rather than have Krait have to break into the orphanage. Molly had laid aside clothes of Ginny's that were still serviceable, having only one daughter; and had let Severus have such few clothes of her boys' as had been grown out of before they wore out on successive Weasley lads.

Back at Hogwarts, Harry was invited in to meet the new additions; and was soon a good friend of the little girls, though he needed to be prompted over how to entertain them; Krait suggested that he tell amusing stories of his and his friends' exploits and unlawful doings. Harry glanced hesitantly at Severus.

"Past is past, Harry" said Severus. "If you can help us teach them how to laugh, and how to relax I'll be too grateful to care HOW much boomslang skin you may have stolen. Though I'd appreciate if you covered some of its value; it's not cheap, and those were my personal stores."

"Oh!" Harry was filled with consternation. "I hadn't thought of that. I-I mean, as it was for the good of the school, I thought it was okay to use school stuff….I'm sorry, sir. Let me know how much I owe you!"

"I owe Harry two sickles" said Krait "Speaking of owing."

Severus dug in a pocket.

"That can be rectified. Why didn't you ask me before?"

"I didn't like to….I still don't like to. Can't we buy some ingredients as an investment and sell difficult to make potions? That'll help pay for the girls' keep….Nobody is better than you at brewing potions."

"The complex ones also have expensive ingredients…it's worth a thought though." He said. "Harry, we need to take your blood….willingly given to the Order of the Phoenix but wrested by force for the Dark Lord….if you and Krait muck around with a quaffle, she could hit you in the face with it and cast her patent nosebleeding spell. You're agreeing to it; but she wrests it by spell."

Harry thought about that.

"There's a lot more to ritual blood letting than meets the eye, isn't there?" he said. "This is going to hurt, I suppose."

"Yes, but not for long" said Krait. "Those two are colouring happily, let's go and do it before they miss me."

Krait had spoken heartlessly enough to Dumbledore about not caring how much Harry hurt; but she was extremely careful not to break his nose and closed the cut septum as soon as she had taken enough blood. She corked it firmly in the vial and stuck it in her pocket.

"That's so prosaic!" protested Harry. Krait grinned.

"I'm a prosaic sort of person….just think, if we were living in Myrtle's time, girls didn't have pockets as such, they kept hankies and anything else they wanted in the leg of their knickers….honestly!" as Harry stared at her in disbelief. "Ask Myrtle…"

"Not likely!" expostulated Harry. "Likely she'd show me!"

"Poor Myrtle" sighed Krait. "She's so lonely. It's not fair! It's another score against my father…."

-/-

Krait was concerned by the pictures the little girls came out with, pictures of violence.

"They need to expunge it from their minds" said Severus. "It's a form of catharsis. Let them draw what they will, love, and in later years we can discuss their pictures with them and help them deal with their personal demons."

"And you and I can legilimens each other to deal with ours" she said gently. "We have no further excuse for delaying, have we?"

He shook his head.

"You have warned them we have to go away for a while, several hours at least….they are happy enough with Harry. He's very gentle with them. I can't see James being so patient….though maybe he was with his own son." He sighed. "Let us get this over with, we are as ready as we will ever be."

"Can you do any mind linking spell?" she asked. "So we could confer?"

He hesitated.

"It's a bit brute force" he said "It would be up all the time, with an inkling of the other's activities…it isn't used much because of the, uh, intrusive and, uh, intimate implications."

"You mean sitting on the loo."

He burned.

"Uh, yes."

"If you'd rather not, I understand. But we are intimate… well, sort of…. Nearly…."

"You don't mind?" he was surprised.

"Severus, everyone has the same bodily functions. And you won't get a period pain for a couple of weeks, so there isn't THAT to worry about." She said prosaically. He stared then laughed in sheer delight at her consideration of all the implications.

"I love you so much, my practical love!" he said. She hugged him fiercely.

"You're not supposed to sound surprised!" she teased.

_crediting Gilbert and Sullivan, Princess Ida and [back in Chapter 1] Mikado. 'Ida' is not one of the more regularly performed operettas but King Gama has a couple of good songs that just suit Severus to a 'T' because he is most determinedly 'a disagreeable man'.__ Look them up on Youtube if you don't know them; I found both quite readily. I LOVE Youtube. _


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20:** A Christmas Present for Voldemort

The Riddle House on the hill in Little Hangleton had seen better days; but it still had a kind of decayed grandeur. Krait regarded it thoughtfully.

"What a burke my father is….so rejecting muggle ways that he neglected to claim his right as heir and lay proper claim to the Riddle property. If we come out of this alive, we have the added advantage of DNA testing….the sale of this place would pay off your father's debts and some, I bet. And leave enough to pay off my school fees and equipment for someone else to get a scholarship."

Severus gave a wry smile.

"On the verge of meeting the most terrifying wizard in the world and you still manage practical economics…."

"I have to believe we are going to win. Nobody ever won when they'd already given themselves up…..we may die as a sacrifice, but I prefer to fight to live. Don't you?"  
"Obviously….I have so much to live for now….we had best go in."

There was a light upstairs, flickering firelight by the look of it; and the pair moved into the house through its big front door and up the stairs. They heard voices from the occupied room.

"Push me closer to the fire, Wormtail, I am cold."

The voice was as cold as if it came from the grave; and Krait suppressed a shudder. Severus was trembling violently beside her until he pulled himself together with an act of will.

"It will only be a few more months, My Lord, and you will have Harry Potter in your grasp…." The whining voice replied.

The cold voice laughed, a nasty laugh devoid of humour.

"You don't sound very convinced, Wormtail."

"Of course I am! It is a marvellous plan!"

"You lie….you believe Harry Potter's friends will find a way to save him…but not when they believe that MY servant is his friend too. You have no faith in me Wormtail."

"I do, My Lord!"

"You lie again…you always lie. You lie about your devotion to me…but you will have your chance to expiate your lies…Where is Nagini?"

"I do not know, my Lord."

The snake Nagini was coming into view of Krait and regarded her with flat malevolent eyes.

_**ssss **__And you take interest in our passage why? __**ssss**_ said Krait.

The snake hissed some consternation.

_**ssss**__Who are you and why are you come? __**ssss**_ Nagini hissed.

_**ssss**__I am the Krait, the mistress of the poison fang…. Tell your Master that I am come, she-snake __**ssss**_

"Nagini has most interesting news, Wormtail" said the cold hard voice. "We have visitors."

"Is – is that why she is hissing so much, my Lord?" Wormtail quavered.

"You fool" the voice was contemptuous. "Surely even you can hear when there is another voice besides that of Nagini? Invite our guests in, I have not spoken with another Parselmouth for a long time."

The door opened revealing a short man, whose little remaining hair was greying. His pointed nose twitched with fear and his watery eyes peered out.

Krait found it hard to believe that he was only the same age as Severus; she looked him up and down in disgust.

"Mr Pettigrew, I presume" she said silkily. "You haven't worn very well. Still afraid that Black is going to bite your tail off as an aperitif?"

Wormtail started back as though slapped.

"Wormtail, we are here to see the Master, pray do not get in the way" said Severus dryly.

"Severus! Come in…and your young….friend." the thin voice betrayed a note of curiosity. Severus strode in and Krait followed in his wake. He approached the armchair.

"Turn me, Wormtail, so I may see our guests better" Voldemort demanded. Wormtail approached with a look of loathing and horror and rotated the chair.

The creature in it was as small as a baby. It was hairless and scaly and reddish black like burned rotten meat. The arms and legs were skinny and feeble and the face flat and snake-like like a repellent chimera.

Severus showed no emotion; he was good at that.

"Fascinating!" said Krait, who was more interested than repelled. "A Homunculus form from Mandragora if I guess right…how inventive."

The creature's eyes regarded her flatly.

"My form does not repel you then…Wormtail, learn a lesson from the young Parselmouth who is more appreciative of my inventiveness than put off by my…current …appearance."

Wormtail swallowed.

"I came to make a report, Master, and to bring gifts" said Severus, obsequiously. "I noticed the Dark Mark growing…I knew I had to report to you."

"A report?" the thing in the chair was alert. "That suggests a problem, Severus. I dislike problems."

"It was an apparent setback…but can be rectified readily" said Severus. "Harry Potter and his friends mistrusted Moody….they acquired Veritaserum from my stores and switched it for Crouch's Polyjuice Potion. Dumbledore is aware of that plan – and Crouch is dead. Fudge gave him to the Dementors."

Voldemort hissed in rage. Wormtail cowered, but Severus stood his ground.

"You call that merely a setback? This had better be good, Severus."

Severus shrugged.

"Crouch told that you wanted Potter's blood for your rebirth. I took the time to do some research; I believe it should be taken by force. My young….protégée…here staged a fight with him over Quidditch practice, thumped him in the nose and simultaneously cast a spell of her own devising that slits the septum….there was plenty of blood. I have it with me."

The homunculus gave an unpleasant smile.

"That was quick thinking of you Severus…it is by no means ideal for I should have liked Potter in person….but you prefer to sneak around rather than declare your affiliation openly, don't you?"

"Master, I do your bidding, as always. When we feared you were dead, I remained at Hogwarts to spy, in case you returned. I did not kill Potter, for I had a feeling you might yet need him… and I was right, for his blood will restore you to glory. Besides, I am not sure that the protection his mother gave him would not prevent me doing so anyway. I have done as seemed the best thing."

"And the most comfortable….this is a clever gift to extract yourself from my ire. And you will perform the ceremony of rebirth for me?"

"Master, I should like nothing more" said Severus, assuming an expression of awe and joy on his harsh face.

"Good. And this…protégée of yours…who is she?"

"My other gift for you, Master….she is your own daughter, conceived, I believe on a Malfoy Bastard."

There was a flicker of interest in the dead reptilian eyes.

"My daughter? And she longs to serve me? speak girl and tell me."

Krait put up her chin.

"I grew up in a stinking muggle orphanage when my mother died birthing me, with sadistic bitches in charge….I can be very useful to you, 'cos I figure you OWE me for that time."

He regarded her unwinkingly.

"Owe? I owe you NOTHING. I gave you life, and passed on my powers. What more do you want?"

"I want to be on the winning side and have riches unnumbered and people get out of my way because they fear you" she said. "Severus Snape says that when you win, I could be princess to your King. I should like that. I should like that very much."

He regarded her narrowly.

"And why should I accept you? What do you have to offer me?"

Krait tossed her head.

"Brains…which if Wormtail is your closest advisor you could do with in your cabinet…my own powers are not so despicable. I caught up four years of what I missed in that stinking, magic-drowning hole in one term, and I am skilled at transfiguration well above average, and I am already pushing to the top of the class in other subjects. I am a snake animagus too." She looked down her nose.

"And suppose I wondered if you might aspire to replace me?" the question was soft but he held her eyes with a magnetic gaze. Krait laughed.

"Have the bother of having to be in charge? No thank you!" she scoffed. "I'll work hard enough to get you established, but I want a long life and an easy one. I'm not going to be the one that is the target for every fool assassin. You can do that yourself and breed yourself a son as heir for the second choice target, thank you."

"I see" Voldemort's eyes glittered with something akin to pleasure. "But your tone, my daughter is impertinent….we must correct that. Wormtail, my wand…"

Wormtail passed over a wand, shaking. The tiny figure could barely hold its weight and had to concentrate on lining it up on Krait.

Krait had time to brace herself before the Cruciatus curse hit her. She fell to her knees; and contrary to Severus' advice, held back the screams for a long slow count to twenty though she subsided onto the floor, crouched in the foetal position. Then she let the scream out. The pain stopped.

"Thank-you-for-the-correction-of-my-sins-Hail-Mary-full-of-grace.." she struggled to her knees.

"What? What is this?"

Krait broke off and swallowed.

"Conditioned reflex to punishment" she said.

"The nuns in the orphanage where she was reared had some exotic entertainments" said Severus.

"And what do you plan to do, my daughter?"

"Let loose that spell on them 'til their toenails BLEED" said Krait, viciously.

"She has several imaginative ideas" said Severus. "I advised her to sup the dish of revenge when it has cooled somewhat…she'd regret making too hurried a job of it."

"And what imaginative ideas did you have?" asked Voldemort.

"I was thinking of a competition to see how long each of them could stay in one piece with a troll at each corner, pulling" said Krait, meditatively "Or maybe heaving out their intestines from their living bellies and cooking them with onions to make them eat…it would require a finesse I still lack to keep them alive through that, though." She could half believe the revenges she suggested; sometimes she had survived the cupboard by imagining terrible things befalling her tormentors because it was the only way she could feel any kind of control of her own situation, to know that they could not touch her inside. Now she realised, somewhere deep within that such thoughts HAD been damaging her inside; that they made her like her father, and that horrified her. But it was still easy to think the thoughts convincingly enough even though she no longer wanted vicious revenge. Justice would be nice though. She smiled an angry, fierce smile.

There was a horrid grating noise. Lord Voldemort was laughing.

"Why my dear daughter, I believe we shall get on splendidly" he declared. "Your gifts are good, Severus. The only thing to consider is if the Ministry may have aurors on the way here, in which case we shall have to move fast. How long have you already delayed in research?"

"The Ministry will not come" said Severus serenely.

"And how can you be sure of that?"

"Because, My Lord, Fudge prefers to believe that your loyal servant Bartimius Crouch was a solitary madman having delusions. You are officially dead and no threat to anyone. He ridicules Dumbledore's fears. Is he one of us by any chance?" he asked mildly.

"No he is not…but what a wonderful unconscious ally we have in him. I believe you, though, Severus. Fudge IS an old woman. It is fully dark, now….let us go down to the graveyard. Bring the cauldron, Wormtail."

"Yes, my Lord. It was to have been MY honour to mix the restoring cauldron, my Lord. Are you really going to let him do it? Do you trust him?"

The homunculus gave Wormtail a poisonous look.

"Yes, Wormtail and Yes. He is a better potioneer than you and a better arithmancer…is the time auspicious, Severus?"

"Yes, Master…I allowed time to explain matters. In half an hour the best time will be achieved, providing we lay all out in the correct alignment in the churchyard."

"You see, Wormtail? And would that have occurred to you? Of course not. And look what gifts he has brought me…..if he had not been trustworthy, would he have brought Potter's blood? He would not have been allowed to."

"IS it Potter's blood, though?" squeaked Wormtail malevolently.

"Is it?" Voldemort turned to Krait. "You assisted in acquiring it…has it been within your sight all the time?"

"I can check it now" said Krait, calmly, shifting form. She flicked her forked tongue over the vial, and changed back. She met her father's eyes. "Though it was out of my sight for a few minutes, I can verify that it is Harry Potter's blood….no two people taste the same."

"Useful" he said, his eyes gleaming. "Satisfied, Wormtail?"

"If you are, my Lord" said Pettigrew, sulkily.

"Good. You shall be permitted to make the sacrifice, however…..And since it grieves you so much to touch me my daughter shall carry me down."

Krait picked up the revolting creature; and Wormtail shot her a look that could not decide between jealousy and gratitude.


	21. Chapter 21

_I borrowed some dialogue here because Tom Riddle speaks the way Tom Riddle__ speaks and it's in a sort of warped parallel with canon_

**Chapter 21: ** Cooking With Daddy

Krait found it bizarrely melodramatic to be performing a magical ritual in the middle of a graveyard; like a bad gothic horror movie.

"All we need now is Boris Karloff" she muttered to herself.

The cauldron was a huge stone one, big enough to take a man; and Severus started a fire beneath it, carefully adding a few ingredients to the water within.

"Venom….rosemary….shredded boomslang skin in prepared salts.."

_**"Snake oil in spades for the wolf tickets train…"**_ Krait hummed the line from the song in his head.

_**"Don't distract me…if I get this wrong he'll kill us both"**_ he returned testily.

At last he was ready.

"Put me in, daughter" Voldemort said.

Krait picked him up.

"Do I remind you at all of my mother?" she asked, conversationally, as much for something to say to cover the whole horror of the business as any other reason. He looked at her coolly.

"I can't say I even remember her" he said.

Krait exercised her entire willpower not to snap the fragile looking neck at that point and to keep her body or her mind from showing any emotion. Clearing the surge of rage was the hardest thing she had ever done.

_**"Well done…that vanished as soon as it formed. I do not think he saw it"**_ Severus praised her.

"_**That alone is enough to destroy any sympathy for him he might have persuaded me to harbour"**_ Krait returned coldly. Emotionlessly she laid the homunculus figure into the cauldron.

Severus raised his wand.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, to renew his only son…"

The grave by which the cauldron stood cracked and a fine trickle of dust rose into the air, directed by Severus' wand and fell in a sprinkling shower into the cauldron. Wormtail was whimpering. Severus looked at him.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given…" he said. "To revive your master…"

Wormtail pulled a long, thin silver dagger from his robes, sobbing in terror. He stretched out his right hand, the one that was missing a finger; and swung the dagger up – then down! It must, reflected Krait, be a magical blade, for the cut in mid air should have been inefficient; yet the hand flew off and fell to the ground with a horrid _splut_, almost but not quite drowned by Wormtail's thin scream of agony. Krait shivered. She felt sorry for Wormtail. He had been humiliated by James Potter when called friend; now he was serving another who treated him as badly. Worse. Severus picked up the fallen hand by one finger with every display of slight distaste and dropped it into the cauldron.  
The potion had turned a burning red now and Wormtail had sunk to the ground cradling his maimed limb to him.

"Blood of the enemy wrested by force to resurrect your foe" said Severus tonelessly, pouring in Harry's blood. The liquid turned a blinding white, sending up crystal sparks into the night. There was a long moment of uncertainty.

Suddenly the sparks from the cauldron ceased and a massive head of steam rose. Within it was the outline of a man, tall and thin, rising slowly.

"Robe me" said the high, thin voice from the steam. Severus picked up black robes that lay folded neatly on the ground – Wormtail had dumped them down anyhow when they had come down, Krait had absently set her father on her hip like a babe and folded them properly with an exclamation of irritation that had seemed to amuse Voldemort mightily – and pulled them over the dark lord's head. Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron, his face whiter than a skull with scarlet eyes, his nose flattened and snake like with slits for nostrils. He examined his new body carefully, touching his chest, arms, face with his long white fingers, which he flexed happily. His expression was one of rapt exultation. He ignored everyone else whilst he gloried in the possession of a new body.

-/-

Krait was watching Wormtail, sobbing on the ground, gazing at Voldemort with a look of hope, adoration and revulsion. The dark lord approached his minion.

"Hold out your arm…"

"THANK you master.." trembling the maimed wizard held out the bleeding stump.

"OTHER arm"

"Master, please…you promised…

Voldemort grabbed the shivering man's left arm and roughly pushed up the sleeve. Morsmorde was red and angry there; and Krait knew that Severus' arm too knew that its creator had returned to full power.

"So…it is back clearly" Voldemort whispered. "And Severus noticed and was obedient to it when first it showed….now we shall know how many are still loyal, how many will be brave enough to come….and how many foolish enough to stay away." He pressed a long white finger to the mark on Wormtail's arm; and the little wizard howled again in pain. Severus' hand leaped to his own forearm. Voldemort looked at Krait. "I should place my mark upon my daughter."

"There are one or two impracticalities to that, My Father" she said.

"Explain."

"Girls are less modest in changing rooms than boys; and even if I can hide it from my peer group, I get to change after Quidditch with Madam Hooch" Krait lied smoothly. "I am more potent as a hidden asset; especially if any decide to betray you and you need unsuspected assistance. Severus is always slightly suspect by the other side as are all who renounced allegiance and claimed the Imperius curse as a reason for their actions. I am a sweet innocent looking little thing. That is almost as powerful as my skills."

"Indeed…" he mused. "Does Severus think you a sweet, innocent little thing?"

Krait glanced across to her lover.

_**"Think about kissing me hard…show your desire, let it leak out.."**_ she suggested.

Severus looked at her, let his eyes dwell on her.

"Your heat sensing abilities from the snake will tell you that…" she said to her father. "Let's just say, even when he calls me 'princess' it's not my feet he dreams of kissing…I enjoy the sense of control that gives me. does it displease you?"

He laughed his unpleasant laugh.

"No…it is another way to bind him. You may enjoy your games…unless you feel like combining with him against me." there was a hard edge to that warning. Krait shrugged.

"You know the extent of my ambitions….and he is too devoted to you for me to play any foolish games like that. There are newcomers."

There were indeed newcomers, hooded and masked, coming forward cautiously and slowly. One of them fell to his knees to kiss Voldemort's hem; and the others followed suit, whispering 'master…master…' They formed a circle; a circle with several gaps. Evidently each had his particular place. Severus started to move to a place in the circle and Voldemort clicked his long thin fingers, indicating with a gesture that Krait was to join him. The circle of hooded wizards was unnerving; but Krait put back her head and stared down her nose.

"Welcome my Deatheaters" said Voldemort softly. "Thirteen years…thirteen years since we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday…we are still united under the dark mark then…or ARE we?" he sniffed the air with his terrible inhuman face. "I smell guilt, the stench of guilt upon the air."

There was a shiver of fear about the circle as Voldemort began to berate the assembled Deatheaters, castigating them for their abandonment for the last thirteen years, whipping them with his tongue.

"I ask myself, how can my LOYAL followers have believed I would not rise again? They who know the steps I took long ago to guard myself from mortal death? Those who have seen the proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living? Surely they did not believe that a greater power could exist, did not believe I, Lord Voldemort, might be vanquished by anyone? Or do they now pay allegiance to another, perhaps that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and of muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

At Dumbledore's name the circle stirred and there were mutterings, and shaken heads.

"I confess myself disappointed…."

He stared until one broke and begged forgiveness; and then chose that one as a scapegoat to loose the cruciatus curse upon. The unfortunate writhed and shrieked. Krait concluded that the churchyard must be well bedecked in muggle repellent spells and muffling spells to prevent any interruption or surely the good people of Little Hangleton would have long since phoned for the local fuzz to come and investigate. She found it easier to watch the deatheater's agonies than those of some innocent; these types were after all quite willing to do this to muggles or good people like Neveille's parents. Voldemort spoke again as the man subsided into sobs as the curse ceased.

"Get up Avery. Forgiveness? I do not forgive…nor forget. There are thirteen long years repayment before I will forgive you. Wormtail has paid some of his debt…haven't you, Wormtail?"

Wormtail sobbed, still bleeding, on the ground. Voldemort could not resist a few more taunts and Krait exercised more mental restraint. Then he said,

"But you helped me…and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers…" he raised his wand, whirling it through the air. Something resembling molten silver hung for a moment in the wake of the wand's passage then shifted and coalesced into a shining silver human hand which flew unerringly to fix upon Wormtail's bleeding wrist. The wizard's sobbing stopped instantly; and he flexed it, played with it.

"Master, it is beautiful….thank you…_thank you…_" he scrambled forward to kiss Voldemort's hem before taking his own place in the circle.

Voldemort moved now from one to another…emphasising the supposed guilt of betrayal of those there by drawing attention to those places unoccupied by such as the Lestranges in Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy was evidently there, 'my slippery friend' Voldemort called him. Lucius had apparently convinced everyone that he had acted under the Imperius curse; and Krait was once again amazed at the gullibility of the Ministry.

"My Lord, the girl….she is my niece" Lucius evidently wanted to lay claim to Krait as she appeared to be in the dark lord's favour.

"Your niece? But Lucius, you are wealthy….why is she dressed in a darned sweater and school robes that have seen better days?"

Lucius swallowed audibly.

"I – I have only just found out all about her background and verified her identity…I had to question her mother's muggle relatives…"

"Have fun, did you, Lucius?"

"I modified their memories…I did not want a trail that the ministry could follow… but she is my niece. Her mother was my half sister…."

"Yet it was Severus who found her and brought her to me…." the thin hard voice said.

"If he had told me she was my niece as well as your daughter I would have seen her well provided for!" Lucius protested, shooting a venomous look at Severus.

"It never occurred to me that she was" snapped Severus. "It was only after she saw YOU and recognised a likeness to her mother that the relationship became clear. Malfoys have ever insisted on _droit de seigneur_ and there are enough people around with vaguely Malfoy looks who are throwbacks not to make it a foregone conclusion. Draco has enough of his mother's features not to be obviously related to Krait….though if you put them side by side there is resemblance I suppose. I have done my best for her."

"Severus, you have given what you could" said Voldemort. "I will not forget that. But now it is Lucius' turn to make good his claim of kinship to my daughter….an adequate allowance is called for, I think, and a decent lump sum to cover her re-equipping herself for school. I do not like to see my daughter being dowdy."

"Of course, my Lord!" acquiesced Lucius hurriedly.

"Thank you, Uncle Lucius" Krait murmured. "It will be useful…I trust you left my great aunt and great uncle with some really entertaining nightmares?"

Lucius looked quite self satisfied.

"I would imagine so" he purred.

"Enough! You can have your avuncular reunion with the child later!" snapped Voldemort.

"Of course, Master. Please, can you tell us how you have achieved the miracle of rebirth?" Lucius was cunning enough to turn the topic of conversation to flatter the ego of the dark lord. Voldemort preened.

He proceeded to explain how he had been left without a body after his encounter with Harry as a baby; and had hidden, possessing snakes from time to time until he had been able to take over for a short while the body of Professor Quirrel for an abortive hunt for the philosopher's stone; and that then Wormtail, himself a fugitive, had found him and made a homunculus body for him, and shown the initiative to bring Bertha Jorkins, who had enabled him to contact Barty Crouch.

"My loyal servant failed, alas, and died for me….but Severus was sufficiently quick witted to save the day." He said. "With Harry Potter's blood I am stronger than ever."

"We are delighted, Master!" Lucius bowed.

"Naturally" said Voldemort, dryly. "You may continue the celebration….my daughter, I will speak with you further."

Krait bowed and approached.

"I was thinking about Potter" she said.

"Indeed? I often think about Potter." He said. "My ambitions towards him are generally fatal."

"There is no question, though, that his blood is strong….from what he stole from you and from the combination of his parents, who I understand caused you no little annoyance." She said.

"That is true…what are you thinking?"

Krait shrugged.

"I think he is a little immature as yet, but his child as your grandchild would train up to be an excellent tool for you, …..it might be worth considering my seduction of Harry Potter before you decide to kill him." It would give them time if only he would consider that a reasonable suggestion….time to find out more….

Voldemort was startled.

"I have no need of future generations…I am immortal" he said.

"But blood is thicker than water…if such a child were sufficient to grow up to be your seneschal, that could be an hereditary position if you so chose, to prevent excess ambition within your generations….the position would be dependant then on your survival, a good incentive to keep you healthy. Like the old custom of the bodyguard of the Pope being his illegitimate son….such had no other way of attaining position and so were fanatically loyal."

Voldemort looked thoughtful.

"There is merit in what you say…what of Severus and his ambitions?"

She shrugged.

"Severus must go along with what is for the greater goal…besides, I don't know if I'd care to fulfil his desires or not. I too am a little young to start such dubious pleasures…besides, having him screaming up the wall with jealousy might be highly amusing."

"It might indeed. And where do you see yourself fitting in with any …future generations?"

"I told you, I don't want to have to run things….I could see myself like the Empress Livia, giving or withholding support to my descendants and poisoning the ones I don't like…. immortality might be nice though, if you ever care to share the secret with me." her heart hammered as she so carelessly posed the question that was the one thing that could destroy her father.

He was silent for a long time.

"Perhaps" he said at last. "We shall see. I will have to judge if you are ready for such a prize."

"Of course, father" she said. "I am aware that I must prove myself."

He nodded.

"I had been going to suggest that you find a way to cause Potter some…accident; but your idea has sufficient merit that I am prepared to try it. Our line is already tainted with the muggle blood of my father…your Malfoy blood will help to keep the line at least a little purer."

"The muggle blood has some uses, though, surely?" said Krait.

"How can it?" he snapped. "You are not a mudblood lover, are you?"

"Not the blood _per se_" said Krait "But the advantages you have of being the son of a rich dead man…obviously you have claimed his lands and wealth that you live here, for you are mighty enough to wear the illusion of an ordinary muggle…any papers needed could easily be forged by one of your ability, and gold is gold."

"Naturally" he snapped.

Krait was delighted that her skills in legilimency were enough to trap him in the lie.

Why should she do the hard work of proving the estate if she could trick him into doing it?

"And now it is easier for you" she said, admiringly "You can invest in the muggle world to increase Tom Riddle junior's holdings and wealth…and so gain influence there for when you take over and rule the muggle world too."

That ought to keep him occupied and out of the wizarding world's hair for a while, she thought.

He looked at her unblinkingly.

"I had not considered that" he mused. "They say that Lucius invests in the muggle world, much as he despises muggles, as a way of increasing his wealth….he can advise me."

"I am glad to be able to make helpful suggestions!" she said. "Why, with enough influence, you could even persuade the muggles to give you popular support, little knowing that they will become ultimately your slaves….it will stop the ministry revealing themselves and appealing to the muggles too if the muggles think you a rich philanthropist."

"I will have to consider that…it has a certain amusement value" he said. "Let us not move too fast. One step at a time. I do not want to alert the Ministry, even if they do prefer to bury their heads in the sand."

Krait nodded.

"That is why I think it is better to get a good muggle power base…and the wealth can then be converted to gold to covertly buy the support of those who might not be swayed by the logic of your ideology…the goblins, say. They hate wizards anyway, and a little incentive…." She reflected that it would take him time to amass enough wealth to implement such a plan anyway; and that it was entirely possible that the view of all goblins as violent and mercenary was an entirely erroneous wizarding prejudice anyway.

He nodded slowly.

"I will consider it….when you offered me your brains I was dubious, but you have obviously thought quite deeply about how to aid me. I am pleased with you. You had better return with Severus now, lest anybody miss you…we will speak again."

-/-

They apparated back to the outskirts of Hogsmeade; and Krait turned into Severus' arms, trembling violently.

"Little love….you did so well, I almost believed you were a little monster!" he held her close.

"I had to….your life was at stake as well as my own. I've bought time for Harry anyway…I feel quite sick!"

He cupped her face in his long delicate fingers.

"In some ways I am glad….he has not got you in thrall. Ah, Krait!"

Then he was kissing her, hard and passionately with relief; and she pressed up against him, clinging to him, savouring his love that dispelled the worst of the horror of what her father was, taking comfort in the intensity of his love and desire for her.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Thank you for all the continued support and reviews….please keep them coming they feed my ego! And constructive criticism is always helpful to improve my storycrafting. **_

**Chapter 22: **Relatives and Friends

Lucius Malfoy turned up the day after to sweep Krait off to Diagon Alley in his luxurious coach drawn by winged horses. A less than enthusiastic Narcissa accompanied him

"To advise you on the purchase of gowns, er, dear niece" said Lucius.

Krait raised an eyebrow.

"My thanks; but scarcely necessary" she said coolly. "Being poor does not preclude good taste, only the means to fulfil it."

"It is my pleasure to assist" said Narcissa tight lipped.

"Ah, tact and diplomacy…" said Krait. "You don't have to, but if you insist I shall put up with your company with the fortitude that you put up with mine."

Narcissa gave her a poisonous look.

-/-

It was fun to sweep into Diagon Alley in a coach and horses, via some other entrance that permitted the passage of such extravagant means of travel. A goblin youth stuck out his tongue as Krait emerged, and with a swift look to make sure Narcissa was not looking, she pulled a face back. The urchin looked surprised, then grinned suddenly.

He ducked out of the way quickly enough however when Narcissa alighted.

Krait rather enjoyed her shopping trip, Narcissa notwithstanding; she liked pretty clothes as much as anyone and proceeded to satisfy her tastes towards the style she knew in the muggle world as 'Goth'. That she preferred to spend the clothes budget that Lucius gave her more on fabric puzzled Narcissa.

"They will take time to be made up…you have not given Mr Twillfit a style you want" she said.

"I like to sew….I prefer to make my own. Why should I stick to the styles of fashion other ninnies follow because they are the styles other people have made popular? I am no sheep to bleat in the fleece of others. You can see from what I have chosen that my taste is good and not like to make anyone laugh at the Malfoys, which is what this is all about…I am not handing over my own designs to someone who might be bribed to copy them for another…..and it is less profligate."

Narcissa had never met the concept of avoiding profligacy; but she could appreciate a desire not to be one of the common herd.

"I have my own designs made up for me" she said "But if it is an amusement of yours…I prefer to embroider, myself."

"I should like to learn that, if you will teach me" said Krait. It was something she knew little about; and a closer relationship with the Malfoy family might prove useful. "I should like to visit certain muggle antique shops while we are here; a hand cranked sewing machine will help me with my designs."

Narcissa baulked at that.

"I refuse to go into Muggle shops!" she said.

Krait shrugged.

"Fine; I'll go by myself. If you will advise me on the purchase of a piece of jewellery here that I may then sell for muggle money, I'll be just dandy."

Narcissa was tempted to forbid Krait outright; but was curious to see this 'sewing machine'.

"Does it sew as well as magic?" she asked.

"Huh, magic only sews as well as the enchantment on the needle or the skill in the user's wand" said Krait "And THAT can be pretty variable…. A sewing machine manages twelve stitches to the inch on fine material, which is quite adequate for inner seams; as is eight to the inch for velvet. Anything that shows I'll do by hand, but it'll save time."

Narcissa sighed, and helped her choose a piece of goblin-crafted jewellery.

Krait made a significant profit on it in real terms, choosing to go to an antique shop rather than a pawnbroker, and holding out for a good price through claiming sentimental attachment. As a consequence of which, when she tracked down a sewing machine, a turn of the century Singer, she had enough left over to dress herself in designer fashions of the muggle world too. One never knew when it might come in handy.

Narcissa was fascinated by the sewing machine.

"Sometimes these muggles can be almost as ingenious at copying magic as goblins" she said. Krait laughed.

"Oh they don't copy magic; how can they copy something they don't believe in? What muggles believe in is technology and the belief that it can do anything…this would be a poor old thing to most modern muggles who would expect a machine that runs on electricity and can do embroidery too. It'd be nice if this could do buttonholes, but y'know, you can't have everything. And at least I can do very efficient buttonholes by hand. I'm very good at darning too."

Narcissa was thawing a little to the girl, though she found her incomprehensible in many ways; they had at least almost got a shared hobby and the child was willing to learn more. Why, if this machine made a good job, Narcissa thought she might even offer Krait a supplement to her allowance for sewing clothes for her!

Krait was glad to get through the day without any serious altercation.

She nearly fought with Lucius on their return when he insisted that she change her name to Malfoy though.

"Why?" she asked, bluntly. "Where were the Malfoy family for my mother and for me? I might just as well change my name to Riddle – at least that appears on my birth certificate."

Lucius fought down anger.

"As a favour to me, my dear….you will not get the respect you deserve from most undiscerning fools by using your father's surname – not yet, at any rate. But being a Malfoy will add to your consequence."

Krait nearly gave him a blistering opinion of his consequence and her thoughts on such; but mastered her anger and remembered her part as would-be princess.

"I suppose you do owe that to me" she returned in a sulky voice. "But I want you to know that I'm proud of what I've achieved without the advantages of family behind me."

"Of course, dear niece" soothed Lucius, speciously. "I appreciate your pride – it is a Malfoy characteristic after all!" that was true enough. And whilst her refusal to fall in with his every plan was irritating, Lucius could not but be pleased that this new niece of his did not fawn on his every desire for favours and more gifts. At least the pride had bred true as well as the power!

-/-

Of the rest of the lump sum Lucius gave her, much of which she had managed to save, she passed it to Severus, including the last of the muggle money she had not spent.

"I can't take this…" he said.

"It will help keep Jade and Lydia…he has promised me a weekly amount of five galleons, can you believe it?" her eyes were round. "That will accrue nicely…we could live on that the four of us even if we weren't being fed here at Hogwarts, as you own your house outright…once we can pay off your father's debt you won't have to worry."

He smiled at her.

"My dear….it would prove useful. Thank you."

-/-

Harry was pleased for Krait when she told him, though suspicious.

"He's more afraid of my father than he is pissed at me being part muggle" she said cheerfully. "Now we need your Godfather here to complete the team; and if I can get the secret of immortality from the fishy little twerp we can start to move forward."

Harry nodded.

"I'll write to him. Any idea how Draco Malfoy's going to take this?"

She shook her head.

"No…it might undo all my careful subversion. First day of term tomorrow though; I'll find out then."

-/-

The first day of term had its momentary excitements before Krait had the chance to seek out Draco, when a first year turned up and was found to have his owl, wand, and sundry books infested with chizpurfles.

"So what ARE Chizpurfles when they're at home?" Krait demanded of Hermione, having rapidly learned that Hermione was a walking encyclopaedia.

"They're magical parasites that normally infest the fur or feathers of magical beasts, but may also get into magical items…they feed on magic you see" said Hermione "It's imperative to get rid of them before they sap all the magical power in an item. Some Muggle Studies experts believe they can also affect electricity and cause shorts in sensitive electronic equipment like computers that are put down by muggles to mere quantum variation. I shouldn't mind studying that at some point after I've left school" she added meditatively "Since I also know how to use computers."

"Sounds like a cool study" said Krait "I'm hazy on quantum physics I have to say; I always found chemistry more interesting, physics needs more banned stuff like uranium to make an interestingly big explosion."

"What ARE you like!" Hermione was shocked; and Krait grinned unabashed.

"With my uncle Lucius – he's acknowledged me as a Malfoy – as a governor, are you REALLY going to tell me you've never dwelt on the concept of exploding a school governor?"

"Well, no, actually, since you ask….but I do see you have something of a point" conceded Hermione.

-/-

Krait was reassured when Draco sought her out as soon as he had arrived and asked,

"I hope you don't think my dad is overwhelmed by affection for you?"

She chuckled.

"I should rather think he dislikes me intensely…he sees buying me as a means to ingratiate himself with my father."

"I don't understand…you told me I'd have to choose…you seemed to say you didn't want me to be a Deatheater…but you've given yourself to the dark master." He looked unhappy and confused.

"Draco…ah, Draco, what do you want from life? Tell me truthfully!"

He looked rebellious.

"I want to be happy….I thought I was happy, but I looked at my life like you suggested and all I have is things….my mother loves me but she can't ever leave me alone…I know Crabbe and Goyle secretly laugh at me because she babies me. I kind of resent that…and my father is a cold fish. I – I want to please him, but I never can….he wanted to know everything I knew about you and he called me a dolt because I'd lost the opportunity of taking you to the Yule Ball and courting you. And that really goes against everything he's always told me" he added, aggrieved "Because he said I should court and marry you, though you're not a pure blood because it would be politically useful!"

"I note the ideals change with convenience" said Krait, cynically. "Draco, do you love your father?"

"I thought I did…Krait, I think I hate him!" the boy admitted miserably.

Krait gave a silent sigh of relief.

"Draco, the time has come for me to ask you seriously what side will you choose." She put her hands on his shoulders and gazed into his grey eyes.

Draco blinked.

"I – would have said I wanted to be on your side…you treat me like I always thought a sister would…I should be proud to serve the dark lord…"

"But deep down every feeling revolts against it" said Krait in satisfaction. Draco dropped his eyes; but Krait had read enough.

"Draco, have you heard of occlumency?" she watched his body language narrowly.

"No…what is it?" he looked back at her.

"You're either very skilled or I can trust you….Hold on." She fished her silver knife out of her bag. "You said I was like a sister…let's make you my blood brother." She made a small slit in her thumb and passed the knife to Draco. He did the same and they pressed their thumbs together,

_**ssss**__Should be enough for me to feel truth…__**ssss**_ Krait muttered to herself. Draco started.

"Krait? I – I could almost hear words when you hissed."

"That's an interesting side effect…..Draco, how would you feel if I said I was planning on opposing my father and helping to bring him down?"

He stared.

"Scared" he said honestly. "But…but you had something to do with restoring him, my father said! I heard him talking about it with my mother…."

"He cannot be killed until someone can find a way to destroy his soul…he can move bodiless through the world, possessing other bodies at need when the form he occupies is killed. I need to find out what keeps him alive…..so I can truly kill him."

"You want me to follow you? You will be a dark lady?"

She shook her head.

"No, Draco, I will not….I will be an ordinary witch. I purpose to aid Harry Potter as the prophecy; and if you will aid me to bring the sick brotherhood that is the Deatheaters tumbling down I will be overjoyed. If you cleave instead to your father's ideals I must ask Severus to erase your memory of this conversation."

Draco's eyes were wide and a little wild.

"You are asking me to betray my parents!"

"Yes" said Krait. "I will try to save the mother who loves you; but you have acknowledged that you hate your father."

Draco dropped his head into his hands and wept silently; and Krait stroked his sleek hair, reading his conflict through the throbbing in her thumb.

He raised his head.

"You're the only person I've ever known who's more interested in who I am than what I am….I'll follow you, Krait. But – but I don't like Harry Potter and his horrid friends!"

"That's only because your father brainwashed you into not liking WHAT they are" she soothed. "There's a lot of similarities between you and Harry, brother mine. Once you get over this 'mudblood' nonsense that your father himself obviously doesn't truly believe if he follows the dark lord and urges you to marry me, you'll get on just fine with Hermione….it'll take a while but we'll get there. You'll have to carry on at home like nothing's happened of course…Severus will teach you some occlumency." And Severus can check he really is with us as he does so, she thought to herself. Nothing wrong with a little creative paranoia.

"I hate my father.." he said again, vehemently. "So everything I have learned from him must be wrong!"

"Not necessarily everything….but I guess most of his views are pretty skewed. To be a Deatheater you have to be not too tightly wrapped….anyone following that megalomaniac creature that is my father willingly can't be too stable about the upper storey."

"What does he look like?" he asked curiously.

"Let me see….easier to do a partial transfiguration than an illusion I think….." she willed the shapechange into the repellent form of Voldemort. Draco cried out in fear. She resumed her proper form.

"Yeah…and they all came creeping on the ground to kiss the hem of his robe, your father with all the rest, bowing and scraping, fawning on him like so many little Gollums…"

"What?"

"Literary reference…he uses the cruciatus curse freely for any that offend him and they still come cringing back for more. It was loathsome….especially to see a proud man like your father acting like a willing slave….I felt sick" she admitted.

Draco was shocked.

"Is that what he expects?" he said. Krait nodded.

"He is the lord; failure is not acceptable. Even if it's not the fault of the person who failed. It's a tyranny of the worst sort. Deatheaters are NOT strong people – for they've given up their whole will for the will of Fishface, to come and go, to live or die at his orders. To give him service is to enter the most profound slavery including that of the mind; for he is a legilimens and pries on the thoughts of his servants. Not followers, note you, servants."

"Those who serve him must be fools"

"Indeed; though at first I think he was very plausible when he recruited; he is a master of subtlety as well as of cruelty, and has bound some to him with a bizarre form of devotional love that is not unlike the way house elves serve their masters. Perhaps that's where he got the idea….and once joined, leaving him is a sentence of death…"

Draco shuddered.

"Father never told me….I believe you Krait. I'll try to be civil to Potter. I'd do anything to avoid living like that!"

Krait smiled and gave him a hug.

He was convinced.

-/-

Krait took Draco firmly by the hand and led him towards Gryffindor Tower.

"No time like the present" she said.

Draco pulled a face.

"I don't WANT to do this" he said.

"Not nearly as much as you don't want to be a Deatheater" countered Krait with more truth than grammar.

Harry was willing to come out to talk to Krait when she asked a first year Gryffindor to carry a message to him; he looked warily at Draco.

"Draco's been learning a few facts about the world" said Krait, serenely. "I've been explaining one or two things to him that his father left out – rather purposefully – from his education."

Draco gulped.

"I've been wrong about some things" he said. "I don't know that we could be friends but I guess I'll support you against….against Fishface even if it is because I think you're the lesser of two evils."

"It's a start I suppose" murmured Krait.

"Okay" said Harry, a trifle stiffly. "Shake?" he held out his hand. Draco shook it awkwardly. Harry added, "Don't call Hermione bad names though, okay?"

Draco shook his head.

"I'll try not to…I can't help what I feel even if I do know I've been told a lot of lies….it's going to take some getting used to."

"I guess you're pretty big to be that honest" said Harry grudgingly. "It'd have been easier to pretend to change your views. That's cool."

Draco shrugged.

"I don't even know what all my views are any more" he said bitterly. "Krait just pulled my whole life down about my ears and stood so many things on their head….a lot of me wishes she hadn't, that I could go on being comfortable in knowing who I was and what was what in the world I understood!"

"But you'd have had to confront the fact that you're not a cruel little bastard on the inside sooner or later" said Krait. "What if it was over having to kill somebody and Fishface threatened you or –or your mother with death if you didn't obey? Just as an act of faith? He's quite capable."

Draco shuddered violently.

"I know….but I hate you just a little bit right now, Krait."

"Of course you do….Harry will sympathise with that, I've made him look at his own prejudices and undo some of his preconceptions."

Draco looked surprised.

"You have? He has? I thought Harry was mister tolerance goody two shoes!"

Harry snorted.

"She did a pretty good job of unravelling me….and Snape. And now we get along okay…We can get there, Draco, we'll have to set aside some time to just talk. Oh, Krait, that matter you asked me about, he's coming."

"Good" said Krait. "I'll need to talk to him before we put together a meeting of everyone."

_Referencing Tolkein again….._


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: ** A Useful Weasley Moment

Ron Weasley found it difficult to accept any possibility of even a tentative change of heart from his old enemy, Draco; and it was through watching him covertly that the lapse in attention occurred . Krait had been keeping Neville calm through his latest antidote when she happened to glance over at Harry and his friends.

"Ron" she said urgently "I think your cauldron is having a Weasley moment"

Ron, who had been staring – or rather glaring – suspiciously at Draco turned back with a start as frogs started pouring out of his cauldron. He yelped.

"Mr Weasley, what now?" Severus sounded long suffering. "A plague of frogs? By Merlin, boy, how ever did you manage to summon a plague of frogs? In training to become Moses or something?"

Ron flushed.

"I – don't know, sir" he said uncomfortably.

Krait wandered over and peered into his cauldron.

"They're just coming through the bottom like coming through platform Nine-and-three-quarters" she said, fascinated. "Professor, I think Ron's accidentally done something rather clever. Whatever were you thinking about that did this?"

Severus glared at her.

"DO you mind leaving the futile task of seeking out where Mr Weasley keeps his mind to your own time, Miss Malfoy?" he said.

"But if we know what he did it will be easier to rectify, sir" protested Krait.

Severus snorted.

"Are you fascinated by everything Miss Malfoy?" he asked heavily.

Krait considered. And could not resist.

"Not Sago Pudding" she said "Which is about what Goyle keeps between his ears."

Severus glared at her.

"That personal remark was uncalled for…..even if it is accurate" he said. "Ten points from Slytherin and write me out the recipe for sago pudding ten times. Now, let me see what is happening in your cauldron , Mr Weasley" he added ominously. Ron stood back as the potions master peered into his cauldron.

"And your mind drifted where during the delicate task of assimilating?" Severus demanded.

Ron went even redder.

"Er…I was thinking about a family walk we took in the holidays" he said "In the south, some of the frogs were already coming out of hibernation…."

"I see" said Severus, heavily. "Mr Weasley, is it too much to ask for me to expect you to manage to keep your juvenile mind on my class for just an hour and a half at a time? Despite the doubtless superior attractions of your private little world?"

"I'm sorry sir" muttered Ron.

Severus sighed, deeply.

"Mr Weasley I had far rather you were alert than that you were sorry" he said. "Stand back" he tapped the edge of the cauldron with his wand. "Pray collect your errant frogs and return them to the cauldron…I believe I may have managed to reverse the gateway to their turgid home. You will need to scrub your cauldron thoroughly to rid it of the smell and contamination of pondweed and you may write me one hundred lines 'I will concentrate in Professor Snape's fascinating classes'. The rest of you may decant your antidotes as it is nearly time for the bell, Mr Weasley you may stay as long as it takes to catch all your frogs."

Hermione, Harry, Neville and Krait naturally elected to stay to help Ron with his frogs; and after a moment's hesitation so did Draco.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ron asked rudely.

"Gathering frogs, I believe" said Draco, looking down his nose. "Got to do something to say thanks for the funniest potion class I ever had, the look on Snape's face when those frogs came pouring out was priceless."

"Oh" said Ron gracelessly.

Krait giggled.

"Ron, Ron, how deep are we in frogs?" she said in a Miss Piggy Falsetto.

Ron looked confused.

Harry grinned.

"Kneedeep….Kneedeep" he said. Everyone laughed.

"Look here" said Krait "It's given me an idea. Ron, d'you reckon you could do it again?"

"I don't know" said Ron. "Why? We'd only get in the most awful trouble if we caused a plague of frogs on purpose, and with Harry having the second task coming up that won't be funny."

Krait shook her head.

"I don't mean that, you took me too literally. I mean, open up a gate."

"Why?" asked Hermione.

"I was thinking…..if we could put a gate to the punishment cupboard in the orphanage that was magically marked, magically active kids would see it….they could escape here and the fact that the place sucks out magical emanations won't then matter."

"That assumes magically active kids are the ones that get punished." Objected Hermione.

Krait snorted.

"We're different to the muggle kids….deep down we know that…different people stick out and the nuns go by the old Japanese saying, 'if you see a nail sticking up, knock it down'….it's the nature of Catholicism to control."

"It's worth a try" said Harry. "I can't see that it would hurt….and if we CAN open up a door we could maybe sneak through and go rescue people anyway."

"What's so bad about this orphanage?" Draco wanted to know.

Krait didn't have to say a word; her friends told him, forcefully.

Draco looked at Krait with renewed respect.

"You never told me"

She shrugged.

"You had too big a decision to make to trouble you with trivialities….Ron, can you remember how you did it?"

"Kind of….I think" he said, dubiously. "But I had the picture of the pond…I don't know what this orphanage looks like."

"We'll have to combine….I think it's going to have to be a joint effort and some kind of ritual just to be a big enough gate" said Krait. "I'll talk to Domine about it too, he reversed it pretty well."

"Can't we do it on our own without a teacher involved?" asked Hermione.

"I'm not sure if I relish the concept of opening a gate one way to go back into that cupboard, without a means of escape, thank you" said Krait firmly in a tight little voice. She was sweating. "I want to know that there's someone involved who could apparate to London and get me out of there."

Harry patted her on the arm.

"If he'll help it'll be cool" he said.

"Oh yeah, something else" Krait said "I've taken up running first thing in the mornings….to enhance my stamina. I've a theory it'll help in sustaining spells. If anyone else wants to join in, we start at six o'clock."

"We?" queried Neville.

"Domine comes too" she said.

"Get up at a loathsome hour for the displeasure of the company of Snape and hard work like running? Yuk, no thank you!" opined Ron. Hermione regarded him thoughtfully.

"It would probably be good for you though" she said meditatively. "You've got a little porky over Christmas….and there's something in Krait's theory."

Ron opened his mouth; and shut it again.

"Wise move" murmured Draco. Ron glared at him.

-/-

Severus took the idea quite seriously; and took the expedient of placing the group in detention during middle school flying practice. Harry, Ron and Draco were glum about this, but as Harry said, it wasn't so bad as if there had been Quidditch matches that year, the Triwizard Competition having suspended normal sport.

"As well as being a flaming nuisance in other respects" agreed Krait.

"Obviously you are not in detention for real" said Severus "But I understand you wish to exploit Mr Weasley's ah, Weasley moment; and without some instruction on ritual and the nature of gateways the results might be….unfortunate. anyone who does not, in fact, wish such further instruction may leave, I will tell Madam Hooch you completed your tasks quicker than expected."

Nobody moved.

"Excellent….a good number. Ritual works better with more people…and that is six of you without me and seven if I help, both significant arithmantic numbers" Severus rubbed his thin hands together. "We will start by opening doors from this classroom to various others, there's no point being overly ambitious to start off with. Besides, if any of you manage to cut yourselves in two I'd rather be able to find the other half quickly and easily for a better prognosis of your ultimate survival."

"That's Professor Snape-speak for 'this is dangerous'" Krait translated.

Severus gave her a look.

"I think we all got that anyway" said Hermione.

-/-

A lot of theory – which Hermione enjoyed – and a lot of wriggling through gates to odd parts of the castle – which Ron enjoyed – they felt as though they were getting the hang of it.

Hermione said,

"Why is it that things that have an actual real purpose come easier than general lessons?"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"It could be that in your lessons it is easier to let the mind wander if you do not have a reason to apply yourself beyond that alas! Seldom practiced art of self-discipline. Danger of death does rather concentrate the mind wonderfully."

"Is that why you poison fourth years?" asked Harry.

"That is why I threaten to poison fourth years….or rather, let the rumour pass. Some day, knowing antidotes may save your lives….it would be nice to think that the added concentration had the effect of actually driving the message home. However, as you have passed that test, I am prepared to confide that my homicidal intentions are greatly exaggerated…..tempting though poisoning most pupils may be."

"Oh!" said Harry.

"I believe you are ready to attempt the opening of the real gateway….remember to concentrate on the return door as you open it. Refinements like disillusioned fire edging can be added afterwards, get the gateway established first."

"Are you joining us?" asked Krait.

"You are capable of doing it alone… though I am happy to lend my assistance."

"I think" said Harry "We'd be more confident if you oversaw it. Unless you prefer to be able to say you knew nothing about it."

Severus' eyes went flat and hard.

"Where that place is concerned I am happy to put my name to anything that discommodes them. It is a very Azkaban for children and if the nuns are not actually Dementors, if they had the powers they would assuredly use them."

Harry shuddered.

-/-

They chose Myrtle's loo as the venue for the gateway as few people cared to frequent it. Krait had kept her promise to visit Myrtle regularly and they had exchanged life stories; and Myrtle was keen to help.

"I can watch out if anyone comes through and give them directions to wherever you want me to send them" she said.

"My office I think, Myrtle" said Severus.

Myrtle giggled,

"Haven't you grown grand, Severus!" she said. "Your office! It's not so long ago you used to come in here to cry when Potter and Black had been picking on you and calling you Snivellus. Mind you, it kind of almost suited you…like them calling me Moaning Myrtle. Ooh Harry, is that James Potter any relation of yours?"

"You are a tactless clot, Myrtle" said Krait patiently. "You've just put your foot in a bladoosh with two of my other friends. I think a 'sorry' is called for."

Severus had burned and clenched his fists; only Krait and Harry knew his secrets – but of course Myrtle had observed his generation at school too. Harry too had cringed silently, and touched Severus on the arm. His one time bête noir did not shake it off.

"I say….I AM sorry" said Myrtle "But people are pretty rotten to me…you used to call me Moaning Myrtle" she said accusingly to Severus.

"If I apologise too can we forget the other nickname?" he said tightly.

"That seems fair… if you don't call me nasty names either."

Draco was looking between Harry and Severus. Krait stood hard on his foot.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"Whatever comment was probably about to come bursting undiplomatically from your big Malfoy mouth….we all have a tentative peace here, let's tread round it carefully until we know each other well enough to be able to say anything without causing hurt, agreed everyone?"

"Agreed" said Hermione, firmly, glaring at the boys. They nodded meekly.

"Good, let's get on with the serious business" said Krait.

-/-

Because of all the practise, opening the gate to the cupboard was easy enough, with Krait's visualisation.

"I'll go through and check it works and opens from the other way" she said.

"Shouldn't one of us?" asked Harry.

She shook her head.

"I know what to expect….I don't want any of you kids having a panic in there" she said, and climbed over the back of the toilet stool through the gate.

She took two or three minutes before she returned.

"Set up lights surrounding it" she said and bolted for the next stall. There were sounds of retching.

Draco looked startled.

"I'm going to see what this place is like" he said firmly. "I – I need to know what can nearly break Krait." And he scrambled through.

"Was that our cowardly Draco?" Ron was astonished.

"Maybe he's fonder of Krait than he's scared" said Hermione.

Draco emerged, white faced and shaking.

"The stench of fear in there…" he said. "You people ought to check it out….Except Professor Snape, of course, he wouldn't fit."

"I've seen it from the other side" said Severus. "We took Jade out of it."

"Your DAUGHTER?" Draco was shocked. "But she's a babe!"

"I adopted them…Krait told me about them." Severus said. "I'm glad I did…"

Harry was the first to follow Draco's suggestion; and then each of the others in turn. Severus had gone to put an arm about Krait as she retched dry.

"But…it's too small to sit properly, or lie down or shift position!" said Hermione. "How do you stay in there without being in the most fearful pain from cramp?"

"Because you're locked and bolted in and have no other choice" said Krait, emerging.

"What if you need a pee?"

"If you can hold it til you're let out, all well and good…and hope that standing up doesn't make it come. Otherwise you pee your pants and get whipped for being dirty" said Krait. "On your bare wet legs to drive the message home. Satisfied about my embarrassing secrets?" she added

Hermione flung her arms around her and hugged her; and Krait endured it stoically in the spirit in which it was meant. The boys variously patted her on the back with embarrassed murmurs.

"Krait, you've overdone it" said Severus. "You're quite white…the morning run will take a time to help. Go and lie down."

She opened her mouth to protest but saw the concern in his eyes.

"Yes Severus" she said meekly.

Hermione's eyebrow shot up at Krait's shift to using Professor Snape's first name; but she said nothing.

The Potions Master's concern for the girl and his unwontedly tender expression when he was caught off guard looking at her was quite a revelation; and at least it meant that he was not using her, thought Hermione. Maybe he was human after all!

_crediting Jim Henson__ for the Muppets just to be able to make that awful joke_


	24. Chapter 24

_I made some stuff up about the Bloody Baron before DH came out and I still like it better; try the folksong 'Edward' for background._

**Chapter 24: **Barking up another Tree

Jade and Lydia were meanwhile really settling in, laughing out loud with only the occasional freeze and fearful look over their shoulders – each of which wrung Krait's heart – lest they be punished. They had managed to make friends with one of the school's most fearsome denizens, the Bloody Baron too, which helped. Krait had always been wont to nod politely to the Baron, smiling brightly and wishing him a 'good day' regardless of his forbidding mien; but it was Jade who demanded his name from him so she could say hello properly and asked him why he never spoke.

"Because I don't care to" had been the hollow yet thin sounding reply.

"Then I'll talk to you and you don't have to answer!" Jade had replied.

Gradually the Bloody Baron had thawed and admitted that he had had two little girls Jade and Lydia's age when he died; and that his name was Sir Edward. To Krait – who also displayed no fear of him, and who challenged him to a game of wizarding chess – he confided that he carried the guilt of killing his brother because he had believed slander and calumny from one he believed his friend and had not dared pass behind the veil to face his brother, nor his wronged wife and the two little girls and son he had abandoned in his frenzy of grief over a supposed betrayal. His son, Ormgrim's family name was changed from de Bellvue to Mal Foi for Sir Edward's evil deeds. Finding that not only Krait but the little girls were Malfoys gave Sir Edward the satisfaction of some atonement in protecting children so like in age to his beloved Avice and Alienora. Krait was touched, and spent time when she could chatting to and playing chess with the tortured ghost, which disconcerted the other Slytherins almost as much as her friendly banter with their Head of House! Harry just shrugged when Ron commented on Krait's strange friendship.

"She's good at making odd friends….if she hadn't, we'd not have been on such good terms with Professor Snape…..if Krait thinks he's okay, I'll go with that. I only hope she can learn to like Sirius when she meets him."

-/-/-/-

Krait and Harry slipped out of the castle after school at twilight as soon as Harry had word that his Godfather had

reached the vicinity; and they made their way to an escarpment on the moors where Harry had told her Sirius had taken brief refuge in a cave.

The big black hound snarled at Krait, before Harry came into view behind her.

"Barking up the wrong tree, Black" said Krait.

"It's all right, Sirius, this is Krait…I mentioned her" Harry said. "It's polite to turn round while he changes, Krait"

Krait turned.

"Why?" she asked. "Can't he change form as elegantly as I can?"

"It's custom" said Harry, hurriedly.

"You change form? You're an animagus too?" the strong voice behind her asked.

Krait turned back to face it and studied Sirius Black meditatively. He was neater than the wanted posters she had seen, his black hair cut short and his face shaved neatly. He was better dressed too and did not have such a wild look to his eyes.

"Yes, I'm a snake" she said.

"I see the Slytherin badge on your uniform…I'm amazed Harry should choose a Slytherin as his friend." His tone was half a sneer.

Krait surveyed him levelly and without warmth.

"Yeah, you did your best to set up conditions that would give him most misery, you and his precious father" she said. "I've personal matters with you…" and she thumped him hard in the chest with both her hard little fists. Taken unaware, Sirius bent forward, winded; and met her head coming up to his chin. He went down like a sack of bricks.

"Krait!" said Harry.

"He hurt my Severus.." growled Krait. "Better put him in the recovery position."

Sirius came to groaning as they made him comfortable.

"What in hell was that for?" he growled furiously to Krait.

"All the things you and Potter did to Severus….you beef brained bully!"

"What? How dare you, I'm no bully, nor was James!" he came to his feet roaring at her, lowering over her.

"Yeah? And using your superior bulk against me here and now is evidence that you've given up bullying how?" sneered Krait. "Excuse me, but I place physical intimidation right in there with bullying. How say you, Harry?"

"She has a point, Sirius" ventured Harry. "If I didn't know you I'd be scared by you right now."

Sirius backed off.

"I was taken aback by your absurd accusation" he said, sulkily. It was not quite an apology.

"Absurd? Hardly. I've seen some of Severus' memories in the Pensieve and two lovely bullies such as the pair of you are, are quite classic….picking on the odd kid out, the one you don't understand, the painfully shy one who has trouble making friends so your bullying plays for cheap laughs from the others….never stopping to find out if he's easy to bully because he's used to it at home…oh no. Your cheap fun at the expense of another is more important than anything, why should you care if you make another human being miserable?"

"Oh come off it…old Snivellus asked for it!" Sirius gave an uneasy laugh.

Krait stepped right up to him, her violet eyes blazing.

"Asked for it? Asked for it, you say? That's what wife beaters say when they hit their downtrodden wives too scared to do anything but cower, which drives the violence further! They are not MEN and nor are any who pick on those with a weakness! I tell you this, Black, if you and James Potter had lived in THIS generation of Hogwarts kids, the one who is different, physically, mentally, the one who is under cruel pressure at home that makes him used to being picked on a blazing beacon ASKING to be bullied is your precious Godson….you arrogant twerp, he and Severus are as like as two peas in a pod mentally, and you'd be picking on him. Suck on that!"

Tears ran down Krait's face unheeded, tears of anger and frustration. Sirius stared open mouthed.

"Harry?" he appealed.

"I saw the memory in the Pensieve too" said Harry in a small voice. "I – I was shocked to see my father and you behaving so like little Malfoys…. I FELT for Snape, I wanted to call to him that I felt like that so often….with my cousin Dudley and his friends. You acted like DUDLEY, not like the Sirius I know. Please tell me you've changed!"

Sirius was shocked; and paled visibly.

"We never meant any harm… he was a Slytherin, and a sneaky little twerp at that….he certainly had a good range of curses….do you really think we were bullies?"

"You were certainly bullying in what I saw" said Harry, miserably.

"The trouble with Gryffs" said Krait "Is they tend to feed their bicep-bound brains with testosterone…I'll accept it was a case of utter thoughtlessness so long as you can examine what you were like and be honest that you were thoughtlessly cruel….though trying to kill him by werewolf is a bit bloody much to swallow as thoughtlessness!"

Sirius managed to look shamefaced.

"I wanted to give him a good scare….I didn't think through that Moonie might harm him….we were so used to being with Moonie I forgot he was dangerous… James called me a load of names over that and I deserved them."

"Did you ever apologise to Severus and explain?" asked Krait.

"Of course not! He'd have sneered at me."

"Ah. A coward as well as a berk and a bully. And I use the first in the full rhyming slang sense" she added.

He compressed his lips.

"It was not cowardice!"

"No? But you thought he might sneer at you for your stupidity….sorry, sounds like fear of consequences and cowardice to me."

"What right have you to judge me anyway?" he demanded furiously.

Krait turned to Harry.

"You may have observed" she said clinically "That demanding the right by which one asks uncomfortable questions is the spurious argument employed by those who are losing the debate by means of not having a leg to stand on."

"Yeah" said Harry uncomfortably. "Sirius, past is past, but you're going to have to tell Professor Snape that you're sorry you behaved so badly if we're all going to work together."

"What if I'm not sorry?" growled Sirius. Harry looked like he had been struck.

"I suppose then it's just as well to find out now what you can be like" he said "To be prepared for when you start bullying me"

Sirius was startled.

"We were just kids!" he said.

"More excuses" said Krait coldly. "Just kids who made one boy you hated so miserable he was ripe to be recruited by Voldemort; a boy who at least was strong enough to subsequently break away. And another boy who was SUPPOSED to be your friend, but who seemed to be, from what I saw, put down and ridiculed continuously, tolerated because he gave proper worship to James and you; but who eventually became the worm that turned. If you were surprised poor little Peter Pettigrew betrayed James Potter, I'm not….he's a born victim, even his supposed friends gave him a degrading nickname like 'Wormtail' and you and your friend exploited that thoroughly until he turned to the sly flattery of his dark lord who bullies him worse but scares him more so he dare not leave…..excuse that!"

Sirius was angry.

"Are you accusing me – and James – of having the making of two Deatheaters?" he demanded.

"Yes" she said, uncompromisingly. "And maybe more. With you two lording it over the school casting hexes where you felt like it is it any wonder you drove people into the subtle, flattering arms of someone who promised power and whispered of delicious revenge over those who were making their lives a misery? And how you can be so bloody sanctimonious now, ready to leap down the throat of anyone who upsets Harry without acknowledging your own faults of the past astonishes me!"

Sirius turned to Harry, seeing the boy's face filled with mute misery.

"Why, Sirius?" He asked. "Why were you so nasty then? And – and why can't you manage to move on? You've been a wonderful Godfather to me….it was such a shock…please?" Harry wasn't even quite sure exactly what he was pleading for, only that he wanted Sirius to make it right.

Sirius' face softened.

"Harry, I love you….I loved James…. All right, I suppose we may have gone over the top….Snivellus irritated both of us so much, the temptations to get him were so great…OW" he said as Krait nutted him in the midriff.

"DON'T call him that!" she yelled.

"But it suits him so well…how come you're on first name terms with him anyway?"

"It does NOT suit him…I know you know misery, you've been in Azkaban, shouldn't that make you more understanding? But there's nothing snivelling about a man who risks worse than death to lie with every fibre of his being to a creature like Tom Riddle, who has to think on his feet to come up with reasons not to have killed Harry when he's had the chance, to argue against killing either Harry or Dumbledore in the foreseeable future….you patronising creep, there are more ways to fight than flexing your muscles and prancing out into the forefront of a battle showing off that you can wave a bigger weapon than anyone else even if it isn't necessarily loaded; and when you're undercover it's a lonely business and you die even more alone than on the battlefield surrounded by your comrades if you're discovered….and probably more nastily. You can be assured if Fishface found out one of his Deatheaters was betraying him he'd make sure his life was short and his death long."

Sirius was somewhat struck by that.

"All right, assuming he IS betraying his dark lord….how the devil did you know about that too? And you never answered my question about how come you are on first name terms with him."

Krait threw a withering look at Sirius.

"You poor prune….I'm going to marry him as soon as it's legal."

"You are?" gasped Harry.

"A child like you?" Sirius scoffed. "Don't tell me he's adding that to his sins…OW!"

This time Krait bit him.

"I'm older than Harry…I'm held down a year or more because of coming late. It's not my fault I'm short and skinny, blame it on malnutrition from the years of bread-and-water punishments."

"Yeah" said Harry with feeling. "It's a tribute to Krait's will power she's alive at all….she knows all about all kinds of ways of bullying, Sirius, most of them have been directed at her. It's no wonder she kind of likes Snape, he DID rescue her from there, you know…though I never thought…."

Krait rolled her eyes.

"MEN! Hermione figured it out quickly enough."

"Hermione is the cleverest witch of her age" said Sirius.

"Appropriate word there being 'witch' as descriptive of her femininity" said Krait. "It's being a woman, that is having brains in her head rather than keeping them well tucked below the belt as typifies most other men, especially Gryffindors…..when you can think with YOUR head instead of with your engorged and outsized ego I'll explain the plan we all came up with….but if you're going to continue to throw a massive and infantile sulk because you got caught out being bad by your favourite person I'll leave you there in the naughty corner until you're ready to be nice."

"Is she always like this?" Sirius asked Harry.

"No" said Harry. "Sometimes she gets blunter."

"All right…we were maybe cruel without meaning to be…I'll accept that. I'll meet with Sn…Severus….and be civil – if he will."

"I'll be nice if he is!" Krait employed a sing song taunting tone. "Heard that in the playground, but most boys grow out of it by secondary school age."

Sirius flushed.

"I'm making a lot of concessions here!" he growled.

"No, actually you're not. You're still trying to save face, and that's actually putting yourself in a worse light to Harry. Why don't you show him that you can be big? There's gotta be balls in there somewhere if you survived Azkaban without going insane for thirteen long years….I concede that freely and so does Severus. But he's going to bite first if you give him any excuse because he's in the habit of being on the defensive to you….especially with your friend James being made so much of for publicly defying Fishface; and I'll bet you crowed about that to Severus too when he couldn't say a damn thing about what he was doing, being a secret agent."

Once again, Sirius had the grace to look uncomfortable.

"I'll apologise for the werewolf thing….and I'll shake his hand. It'll have to go from there. Satisfied you irritating girl?" he said.

Krait nodded.

"It's a start….I'll have to work quite hard to find you both grounds to trust each other….especially with that disbelieving note to your voice over IF he's betraying Fishface….I assure you that he is, for he's teaching me occlumency and you have to get quite close for that."

"Why would he do that? Teach you occlumency?" Sirius wanted to know.

"Oh, didn't Harry mention it? I'm undercover with Severus….because of Fishface being my dear, sweet daddy."

This was a bombshell and Sirius stared open mouthed.

"I didn't want to commit it to letter" said Harry. "She met him for the first time when they gave him some of my blood to revive him."

"THEY DID WHAT? AND YOU ACCUSE ME?" bellowed Sirius.

"Keep your fur on" snapped Krait. "Do you suppose we've done anything without the knowledge and approval of Professor Dumbledore?"

Sirius calmed somewhat.

"He APPROVED?"

Krait nodded.

"Something to do with old magic….blood freely given to the Order of the Phoenix which will disrupt the manky little swab, and good, somewhere down the line. It establishes us in his favour and gives me the chance to wheedle the secret of his immortality out of him…..have you thought about going to St Mungo's for your blood pressure old boy? I seriously fear you look like having a myocardial infarction."

He glared at her and she chuckled at him. He plainly did NOT recognise the medical term and it actually sounded so nice and rude.

"What's this plan?" he forced himself to ask calmly, ignoring her taunts.

"You have two choices at the moment….hide away safe, which I imagine is sending you screaming up the wall….or be near Harry in disguise. As you can go dog, the best idea seemed to be that you take a slightly different form to your registered one that lots of people know and be Severus' guard dog….on account of people stealing from his potions cupboard."

"It would be a nice plan but for one thing….and argues you NOT being an animagus at all…an animagus has only one form." He scowled.

Krait looked confused.

"But…I can do all sorts of snakes. Do you mean you CAN'T do all sorts of dogs?" she was bewildered.

"I don't believe you" he sniffed. Krait regarded him coldly.

"Sick this, Doubting Thomas" she said, sniffing. She writhed into her favourite ivory snake form, a kind of python, through cobra, boa constrictor, rattlesnake and back to her own form.

"Merlin's beard!" Sirius was impressed. "You are talented! But I can't do that."

Krait sighed.

"Then I suppose I'll just have to modify you…it shouldn't be hard."

"Thanks, but I like my brains intact, I don't want to think like a dog."

"He calls me talented in one breath and inept in the next" she countered snippily. "I'm no ruddy amateur to screw up like that."

"Harry?"

"She does things that blow Madam McGonagall away….she went from guinea fowl briefly through guinea pig into pig so smoothly the interim stage almost got lost, and it had a tartan coloured skin too."

"It was a Gabardine swine….I was bored" said Krait. "Every time I turn Goyle into a pig he's WELL aware of it, he avoids me now. He's finally learned that trying to twist my arm off hurts him more than it hurts me."

"Well…." Sirius was a little dubious. "I guess I'll have to trust you."

"Change then"

"Turn round" he demanded.

"Don't be daft. How can I modify your change if I'm not watching it?" she demanded.

"You'll cast the spell while I'm changing?"

Krait sighed.

"Obviously. How else will it be effectively enough part of you to change yourself back at will? If I change your animagus form after you have it you'll be stuck in what I give you….and tempting as it is to force you into a toy poodle with a ribbon bow in your head and on your tail and leave you there, I couldn't. I like Harry too well to so embarrass his only family."

"Am I supposed to feel grateful?"

"No, just not to snipe at Severus….or try to rape his leg as an excess of display of dogginess."

"You take all the fun out of it…." He grinned wickedly.

She regarded him thoughtfully.

"Of course a bitch wouldn't be so inclined…." She mused.

"You wouldn't….you couldn't…."

"Do you REALLY want to try me?" she grinned wickedly.

"No….what form were you thinking of?"

"German Shepherd….it's a good guard dog and they look nicer than Dobermanns. Black and tan."

He nodded, and started to change. Krait synchronised smoothly with his spell and pushed through the modification.

Sirius turned his head to see his tail and barked a couple of times.

"Why not change back and check you can?" Krait suggested. He did so.

"That felt all right….what did I look like, Harry?"

"A very handsome Alsatian" said Harry.

"Good….I wonder if we do this often enough I might be able to do it for myself" Sirius said.

"It might be possible….we'll have to try" said Krait. "Now, let's get you back to the Potions dungeon…..we've a nice basket waiting and some chewy toys….for appearances, of course….and the little girls are ecstatically waiting to groom the new dog."

Sirius looked wary.

"What little girls?"

"Jade and Lydia…Severus' daughters. They're six and five and thoroughly adorable. Aren't they Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"We were going to keep who you were a secret from them for now…so they'll want to comb and bath you and take you walkies, I'm afraid. They are sweet though."

"That's a revenge Severus will wear a smile on his face over…he'll never let me hear the last of it!"

"It's a necessary deception" said Krait. "He'll probably grin over it, yes. Live with it. It's less than what you've done to him."

"It's humiliating!"

"And turning someone upside-down and commenting that their underwear is too old to come a decent colour any more is not?" said Krait, coldly "Not in the same league, old boy. For nobody will know that the dog is you – except those people who are already your friends and don't think in terms of humiliation, only how sweet the babes are; and the few of us who you don't like anyway. You don't have to like it – or us. You don't even have to do it. You can go back and skulk in a corner if you prefer. But if you do, if you bite either of those babes I'll personally put a muzzle on you."

"I'd never do such a thing! How can you even think it?"

"A man who's so concerned that infants could humiliate him? I did begin to wonder. Are you coming – or no?"

"I'll come. It's better to do anything than nothing" he growled and changed. Krait modified him as before and got out a collar and lead.

"Obligatory I'm afraid…but the collar will be loose enough to change inside if need be" she said. "We must NOT alert anyone to the fact we're harbouring you…Wormtail if no-one else knows you are a dog and even if the form is different your behaviour must conform in public."

Sirius put his tail between his legs; but let her fasten the collar and lead at least. They set off back to the school.

_Berk, __Britspeak slang term meaning thoroughly objectionable person: comes from the rhyming slang of 'Berkshire Hunt'; work it out for yourselves. Even Shakespeare balked at using that word openly though in Chaucer's day it was just a biological term._

_Gaberdine Swine; a pun on the Gaderine swine from the Bible. Gaberdine is a closely woven twill fabric and Gaberdine macs are traditionally lined with a tartan fabric. Most school uniforms used to include a Gaberdine mac. __I'm not sure if this is Britspeak or not so I thought I had better define. Please forgive if I'm labouring a joke everyone already got._


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: **A Move Towards the Interment of Hatchets

The only slight hitch on the way back was when there was a loud

"AHA! Caught you at it you young rogues… sneaking out at night and smuggling unauthorised pets in!"

Argus Filch was gleeful.

"Excuse me, Mr Filch, I don't understand you" Krait looked puzzled. "What do you mean, sneaking out? We've been on an errand for Professor Snape, this is his new watch dog to guard his potions"

"So you say, so you say….Argus Filch will find the truth…I'll come right with you to see Professor Snape."

"As you wish, Mr Filch" said Krait, politely. "Evening, Mrs Norris" she said to Filch's cat. Mrs Norris gave her highly coloured opinion of dogs in her domain; and Sirius growled.

"Quiet, Wolf" said Krait.

"Ar, good name fer a dog like that" said Filch, impressed by her quiet attitude and obvious lack of guilty conscience.

"He's a good dog….a bit feisty but he'll be quite tractable with training I reckon" said Krait, blandly. "Oh, Professor Snape, we have your dog" as Severus came out of his room.

"Excellent" Severus rubbed his hands together. "Take him into my office, he'll want to get used to his new home. Was there anything Argus?"

"No, Professor Snape….very wise you are to discourage them thievin' little pests if you asks me."

"Quite. Though I did not, I believe ask you. Thank you!" it was a dismissal. Filch gave him a look of mild resentment and headed back to his lair.

-/-

Jade and Lydia scrambled to their feet when Harry and Krait came in with Sirius; and Lydia took up a defensive position behind Severus.

"He's nice!" said Jade.

"He's awful big" whispered Lydia.

"Alsatians are only aggressive to people outside their own family" said Severus. "He must learn we are his family…you may pet him a little girls, but he's in a new environment and bound to be nervous, so when you have greeted him and let him scent you, you must hop off to bath and bed."

"He could have a bath with us!" suggested Jade.

"Ah…no, I don't think that's a good idea" said Severus. "Dogs are very uh, exuberant bathers….you'd be muckier coming out than going in."

"All right" Jade acquiesced. She went forward boldly, hand outstretched. Sirius politely sniffed her hand and wagged his tail. She patted his head softly. "I bet you'd tear anybody apart that tried to hurt us" she said "When you learn to love us".

Lydia came out seeing Jade being brave and put out her hand, and also patted Sirius on the head.

"Bath now" said Krait cheerfully "And I'll tell you the story of how Harry's Godfather was fitted up for something he didn't do and escaped to help Harry." She whisked them off.

Sirius changed back into man form.

"Snape" he said.

" Black" said Severus.

"I've been reminded that I never apologised for forgetting how dangerous Moonie was…..so I apologise for that" he said stiffly "And for if I ever went too far in teasing you."

"You always went too far…how can you forget how dangerous a werewolf is?"

Sirius shrugged.

"Familiarity breeds contempt of danger I suppose…he never hurt us, because of being in animal forms of course….I didn't stop to think about that. And nobody likes to admit to being stupid."

"You blithering idiot, you preferred to have me believe you deliberately set out to murder me than that I should think you a fool?" snapped Severus.

"Yes….it has the advantage of being a grander if more wicked gesture. Childish I suppose, in retrospect, but we were only sixteen."

Severus stared at him.

"Harry's older than you were at sixteen at just fourteen years old" he said. "Of course, he's had to grow up….did you, ever? You grinned like an unbroken pup when you spoke of it being childish."

Sirius' face worked.

"He didn't ought to have had to…."

"No. And he might not have done…if Wormtail hadn't grown sick of being James' adjunct to be abused at will. It was a habit by then."

"Hold on…are you trying to suggest James brought it on himself to be murdered?" Sirius was scowling. Harry scrunched himself up in a corner as they stood glaring at each other.

"I'm saying that James didn't exactly help himself by making unnecessary enemies….Harry knows the worst moment of my life and my greatest shame."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"When James hoisted you in the air?"

"No, you idiot….that was humiliation not shame…the moment I realised that the dark lord meant to go after James and his family and was torn about passing on the information….he doesn't hold me responsible, and that has enabled me to move on, I don't need to chew over it in my own mind any more…I can put the past behind me and I can put the earlier past behind me too and learn to accept that you were an idiotic little boy who had no understanding of anything outside his own rather limited life experience. I don't need to envy you and James any more. I need envy nobody." He spoke in a low intense voice. Sirius stared and opened and shut his mouth once or twice in shock.

"Is it true, Harry? That you don't hold him responsible?" he swung round to the boy.

Harry nodded.

"I guess I understand Professor Snape a lot better…he and I are really a lot alike I guess. I have an advantage of being good at Quidditch; at my primary school when I was no good at games the big hearty ones used to terrify me. I got teased about my scar and my glasses…."

"I was pretty good at Quidditch" said Severus musingly "It kept me out of trouble in my own House…but Potter was better. Like you're better than Draco…and I feel for him over that because he gets as jealous and infuriated over you, especially when you've done something people praise you for, as I used to over James…being second best at something is sometimes worse than not being anywhere because they all tell you to just try a bit harder….of course Draco finds he can be knee deep in cronies because he's rich and I was poor and in any case more interested in my work, and so that similarity ends there; and gave endless amusement to the jolly fellows that liked to hide up library books and pour –accidentally of course!" he added sarcastically "Ink on essays."

Harry looked accusingly at Sirius, who shuffled.

"Swots aren't popular" he muttered.

"My work was all I had" said Severus bitterly "And you even tried to take that from me. I'm going to try to work with you – because we have to – and I'm going to try to forgive; but it's going to be hard to forget, Black."

Sirius nodded.

"I suppose I can understand that…you weren't always blameless."

"I started off retaliating….after a while I figured I might as well get some of my retaliation in first. That's probably childish too. If I went over the top ever, I apologise. I was an angry little boy….it became a habit. I shan't bore you with my home life, but it didn't start me off in a spirit of trust or brotherly love to anyone…..I expected to be hurt and that's what I got. Looking back, if I'd had the good common sense to talk more to Lily Evans when we were younger and more to the point listen to her objections to the gang I ran with to protect myself from being one of their victims it might never have happened; I might even have ended up like Moonie Lupin for whom the rest of you took infinite pains…You and James must have been capable of great compassion where you realised it was needed, you were just…a bit beef witted. I like Moonie. He's a decent man and a good teacher. Idiocy for the parents to make such a fuss about his condition, I'm quite a good enough potioneer to keep it under control when daft dogs don't lead him out on the moors at full moon"

Sirius pulled a face.

"I was desperate to get Wormtail's testimony, prove I hadn't killed him….I am impulsive, Snape, I acknowledge that fault, that it can drag people into trouble….we used to enjoy most of the trouble we got into though once…" he sighed and held out a hand. Slowly, not quite grudgingly, Severus took it and they shook hands warily.

"End of round one, yet gentlemen?" asked Krait from the doorway. "Harry, I trust they stuck to Queensbury rules?"

"Generally speaking" said Harry. "It's an education discovering that grown men have to get over being childish too….makes me feel a lot better about some of my more childish moments."

"I love this boy…he's so devastatingly honest" said Krait.

"He can lie like a trooper if he feels like it" said Severus. "Not well, but inventively….I think we got over most of our more puerile moments. Didn't we, Black?"

"I think so…it's going to be a hard battle, but I'll do anything for Harry"

"Good….he is the key, whether he wants to be or not" said Severus dryly. "A hard task; especially as I accept now that he is not so very like James."

"He's his father's image!" cried Sirius crossly.

"Oh quite….it mislead me into thinking he had his father's disposition too. That he does not is in some ways unfortunate for Harry and in most ways encouraging for the fight ahead."

"What do you mean sir?" Harry asked the question before Sirius could. Severus smiled ruefully at him.

"Your father, as Black says, enjoyed trouble….he took any misadventure like water flowing off a duck's back. He was impetuous and impulsive, bull-headed and enjoyed being the centre of attention whether being praised or told off for whatever exploit he had been involved in….he would have stood in the shoes you occupy with a fatuous grin on his face and some stupid scheme in what he fondly described as his brain to discomfort the dark lord; as he did several times, until the pitcher went too often to the well. He would have thought being the Prophecy was good sport. Am I right, Black?"

"The terms you have used cast him unflatteringly but the description is essentially accurate" said Sirius unwillingly. Severus nodded and went on.

"You, Harry, worry more, which is uncomfortable for you but probably a lot safer….sticking your head into danger before you are ready, before we are all ready, would be foolishness. But you have a character trait that is not helpful."

"What is that?" Harry asked.

"You bottle things up, keep them to yourself….when your scar hurts or anything out of the ordinary happens you MUST tell one of the adults who are here to protect you….I know your home life has made you close in on yourself and become secretive, but please learn to give us your confidence, hmmm?"

"I'll try sir" said Harry.

"Try? There is no try. Do or do not" said Krait in a Yoda voice.

Harry gave a rueful grin.

"I will" he promised.

"Thank God" said Krait fervently "A voice of reason. Try to continue to emulate him, please gentlemen." She shot a loving look at Severus. "It was well done so far."

"You take orders from this chit, Snape?" said Sirius.

"She makes pointed suggestions, not orders" said Severus. "And so far she's been right…it's not a pretty habit to have, but we have to live with it…." He smiled at her.

"I live but to serve, Domine" murmured Krait.

"And I've a bridge in Brooklyn for sale…." Said Harry. She stuck her tongue out at him cheerfully.

"I brought some of that elf made wine you brought back…" said Krait to Severus. "I don't know if it would help or hinder for the two of you to get maudlin together… Harry and I will push off…"

"Can't hurt" said Severus. "At least he has a well enough trained palate to recognise the good stuff not screw up his nose and complain that it's sour…."

Krait shrugged.

"What do you expect for someone who's never touched alcohol before? I like Pumpkin juice much better."

-/-

Sirius eyed Severus over his glass.

"Are you aware of that child's plans for you? Ah, I see that you are" as Severus flushed.

"She pointed out we were quite likely to die and might as well snatch what happiness we could" Severus said defensively. "She…she's like a soulmate…I've never been so happy...she's never had anyone to talk to either…I think she and I understand each other far more than Lily and I did… I'll always love Lily but Krait is…like a second part of me."

"Are you telling me this is purely Platonic?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not telling you anything, because it's none of your business" snapped Severus. "It helps that we understand each other inside out….it helps your godson because we lie better and back up each other's lies and half truths with greater efficiency."

"She really is You-Know-Who's daughter then? And undercover with you? However did you get Dumbledore to agree to that?"

Severus chuckled.

"She told him quite firmly, I should imagine" he said. "He made dubious noises to me, but then he had a conversation with Krait and I never heard any more objections…I expect she told him she was going to do it anyway with or without his help. Strong minded girl, Krait, and remarkably talented."

"You really have got it bad….she'll grow out of you, you know, once she finds boys her own age do grow out of being adolescent."

Severus glared at him.

"If she does….well, I hope the little tyke she picks is worthy" he said, viciously. "but I don't think she will…we'll have come too far together. If we both survive that is. We're well into Fishface's good graces at the moment….he loves having a talented daughter with strong but limited ambitions, who describes exotic revenges on the nuns that reared her….she can do that with half a belief in wanting to do it of course, I'd not mind implementing some of those ideas myself….When five and six year old children wake several times in the night wetting themselves from nightmares in case they've dreamed being here….and Krait sometimes comes down from the dormitory to fix herself cocoa in my office so I think she has nightmares…."

"They're not your real daughters then? Are they her sisters? What happened in this orphanage?"

Severus shook his head.

"They are related to her, but by coincidence…let me tell you about that orphanage." He gripped his wine glass so hard the stem broke and blood spurted from his fingers where it cut; he did not notice as he stared fixedly ahead of him. He outlined Krait's early life to Sirius.

"I'm glad you're angry, Severus" said Sirius, softly, dangerously. "So am I…it makes your feelings towards her clearer, I understand why you feel so protective. But was she so….insolent there? They must surely have punished that?"

"Oh they did…it was her way of rebellion to refuse to be broken…as Harry has refused to be broken by his relatives…..she has a remarkable resistance to the cruciatus curse."

"You've never cast that at her!"

Severus looked down his nose.

"Of course I have. How else was I to prepare her for when her father used it on her? and he did. I'd not do her any favours to let her loose unprepared. I don't think Dumbledore does Harry any favours keeping him in the dark…I use sophistry to feed him information through Krait. I'm becoming quite fond of the boy."

"Well finally!"

"I have my prejudices – Sirius – as we all do. This is why we're getting drunk together, isn't it? To break down the barriers and prejudices between us. When either one of us can send an urgent suggestion and the other one hits the ground running we should have started to get somewhere. I think that was Krait's general idea."

"Managing brat that she seems to be."

"Yes. But very practical." Severus smiled dreamily. "How many girls do YOU know who'd work out the timing of a mind link spell to make sure you weren't going to suffer period pains?"

"Funnily enough, I've not met many girls socially in Azkaban, though my dear sweet cousin Bellatrix is in there I suppose…and since I left I've been a little busy to pursue a social life. All right, I see what you mean…she seems to have a strongly practical streak – as well as a very hard head – and I'll listen to what she says as seriously as I listen to Harry."

"Even as I have started listening to Harry" said Severus. "Merlin's beard, I'm all over blood!"

"Have you only just noticed? Here, I'll help remove the glass shards….."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: **A Little More Hatchet Burial

With an Alsatian who seemed fairly affable to his supposed master – Krait having returned him to that form with some fairly pointed instructions about what to watch for while she did it so he could maybe learn for himself – she relaxed somewhat. Sirius would soon sniff out anyone after Harry. More to be concerned about was Hagrid's disappearance and his replacement by Madam Grubbly-Plank. Krait enjoyed the lesson with the new teacher; they had the chance to see unicorns up close.

"So beautiful…how could he kill one?" murmured Krait to Hermione

"Who?" Hermione was shocked.

"My father….Severus got out of him that he sustained himself with unicorn blood and snake venom…weirdo"

"I thought your soul was cursed if you hurt a unicorn" said Hermione.

"So it is my dear.." Professor Grubbly-Plank overheard. "It is a terrible thing to do…only the most desperate would do it, for unicorn blood can bring someone back from the brink of death. But to kill so beautiful and defenceless a creature leads to a cursed half life."

"What if someone just took blood? Without intent to seriously or permanently harm? Couldn't that be done for St Mungos?" asked Krait.

The Professor shook her head.

"No unicorn would permit it…they are too shy."

Krait looked thoughtful; and spent a long time studying the shape of the unicorns and listening to everything the professor said.

Harry poked the Daily Prophet at them as they came away from class.

It had a nasty article about Hagrid in it, lambasting Professor Dumbledore for employing someone so dangerous as a half giant and making nasty insinuations. Crabbe and Goyle had complained how scared all the pupils were of Hagrid.

"Draco gave it to me" Harry nodded to his new friend.

"That Skeeter woman – the reporter – you know she's an animagus?" said Draco.

"IS she? What of?" asked Krait.

"Beetle…she wanted me to give her information….I said I was not likely to indulge the morbid taste of the proletariat for half lies and scandal about my school….I thought that was almost worthy of Snape…"

"It's not half bad" said Krait. "Beetle, eh? So that's how she finds things out….she flies in and lurks on vegetation literally bugging people. Wonder how she'd like to live out her life as a button."

"I thought that was against your principles?" said Hermione

"For Skeeter I might make an exception…that was pretty decent of you Draco, you don't like Hagrid."

"I guess I like you more than I don't like Hagrid…and you seem to get on with him well enough…and he does support Harry and that's more or less our mission in life, isn't it? Protect Harry, kill Fishface restore er….."

"Restore order to the universe. It is your destiny, search your feelings you know it to be true" supplied Krait. "Good one. Is she registered?"

"I don't think so."

"Hah!" said Hermione. "Then we have her….a little subtle, no, make that unsubtle blackmail. We'll have to talk Hagrid into coming back….Dumbledore would never sack him."

"This one's a better teacher" said Draco, regretfully. "Hagrid really is dreadful"

"The trouble with Hagrid" said Krait "Is that he knows a tremendous amount but he's not that great at imparting it….plus he has a thing about dangerous creatures."

"Yes, it would have been worse if she'd been able to write about those blasted skrewts" said Harry with feeling. "Those Pekes of yours are still after her legs whenever they see her."

"Good, it worked" gloated Krait. "I put a kind of compulsion on them to find her smell very attractive for peeing against….they're very nearly as offensive as the skrewts you know, Fang is terrified of them."

"What's new about that?" scoffed Ron. "Fang's terrified of nearly everything."

"Poor Fang….he's yet to meet Wolf…" grinned Krait.

"Wolf?" asked Draco.

"You really are on our side?" Harry asked tersely.

"Yes"

"He's my Godfather….Sirius Black. And before you create, he was framed for murder by Peter Pettigrew himself who's still alive and serving Fishface."

Draco's eyes grew wide.

"Harry! How could you betray Padfoot to a Malfoy?" Ron was horrified.

"It's not a betrayal…trust has to begin somewhere. I've got to take Draco at his word" said Harry. "If we go through this without trust we'll be no better than the enemy, where every Deatheater is ready to snitch up any other to their master to gain better position and think nothing of doing each other down. We're not like that I trust?"

"I'd have liked to see him prove himself a bit more" grumbled Ron.

"I'm not inordinately fond of you, either, Weasley" said Draco.

"Gentlemen, time out please" said Krait. "We can all work together, that is what is important…We're all slightly jealous of Ron for his fantastic family and his really happy home life, but I for one do not intend to let it interfere with my friendships. Right people?"

Draco shot her a look.

"Right" he said. The other boys muttered agreement. Hermione gave Krait a very searching look indeed; which Krait met blandly.

"What was that about jealousy of Ron?" she asked Krait in the girls' loo.

"I am a little…Draco would be if he knew what real families could be like… I bet Harry would give his right arm to be part of it…Neville has no family life with his strict grandma…you're okay I guess but the rest of us are from dysfunctional backgrounds and vary from the weird to the downright basket cases" said Krait. "Ron's so normal he's abnormal; but he doesn't appreciate it the way he ought to just because his family's not very well off and that's all he sees next to Harry and Draco. He needs an ego boost."

"You're quite devious really, aren't you?" said Hermione.

"It's taken this long to figure that out? I thought you were the cleverest witch of the age" grinned Krait. Hermione blushed.

"You still manage to surprise me….you manage them very well."

"Easy-peasy…I used to have charge of six assorted mixed infants" said Krait. "Handling the simple minds of teenage boys is a doddle by comparison….shoo" she swatted at a stray doxie.

"Be careful, their bite is poisonous" said Hermione.

Krait giggled.

"So's mine!" she said.

-/-

Ron, Hermione and Harry made an abortive attempt to see Hagrid; but he refused to talk to them.

"Leave it to Dumbledore" advised Krait. "SHE might throw aspersions on his abilities but we know he's well clever." She knew that if Harry, Hagrid's closest friend, couldn't get to see him, nobody but Dumbledore could.

"I've a few plans for Rita Skeeter" said Hermione, grimly. "Are you lot coming into Hogsmeade in case we can run into her?"

"Not me" said Krait. "The babes are still too nervous of people to take them into the village; and I'd not abandon them on a Saturday. We'll be taking Wolf for a walk on the downs, he could do with a good run and the chance to get out. Though it would have been quite fun to have got HIM to anoint her legs" she added wistfully.

"I'm not sure he would" said Harry, seriously.

"I thought he liked Hagrid?" said Krait.

"Oh. Yeah, there is that. Look, should we take him into town?"

"Not as much fun for him….why don't the three of you take him for a walk tomorrow? He can slip into a more comfortable shape and so long as you get me to put him back it should be fine….the girls will wonder too if there's a change of plan."

-/-

Sirius seemed to enjoy the chance to have a good run on the moors; he had been accompanying the small group on their morning runs – Hermione having had her way despite Ron's grumbles – but he had more chance to roam here. The little girls, well wrapped against the cold with Lucius Malfoy's money, ran about laughing; they were starting to get healthy roses to their pale cheeks. Krait slipped her hand into Severus' as soon as they were out of sight of the school. He kissed her lightly.

"Life is good" he said, half wonderingly.

"It is…._carpe diem_ as they say, though with my mother's surname that could have two meanings…seize the Day…."

"You are incorrigible…I love you. How's Harry doing with the second task, the egg?"

Krait grinned.

"I think he's decided to be sensible…he keeps lying about how well he's doing with it, but I don't think he's touched it since he first opened it. That Skeeter woman is an unregistered animagus, a beetle….Hermione was talking blackmail and creating an unbreakable jar. She's a real danger. Could she be one of HIS agents or is she just poisonous on her own?"

"I think she's just poisonous on her own….never mind her for now, love. If Miss Granger is determined to deal with her she'll be dealt…Hermione Granger is a resourceful and determined young woman and quite frighteningly clever."

"True" Krait brightened. "Let's steal this day for ourselves while everyone else is in Hogsmeade and forget about school, Fishface, and everything."

He laughed.

"Wonderful idea!"

-/-

Sirius found the conversations between Krait and Severus highly revealing as they had clearly forgotten him; they gave him a lot to ponder. Also what conversations he had with the little girls – or rather the monologues they addressed to him.

Lydia had run back to Severus and Krait, slipping a hand into each and was crowing with delight as they swung her intermittently between them.

Jade smiled approvingly on her little sister and threw a stick for Sirius, which he retrieved; and not feeling like a protracted game insisted on carrying.

"You know, Wolf, I think it's going to be easy for Lydia from now on" Jade confided. "She doesn't really remember Mummy, so she's happy to call Krait Mummy as well as calling Severus Daddy. I'd like to call him Daddy but I still remember HIM and how he hit Mummy until she just lay still and didn't move any more…I was too young then to understand but now I know he murdered her…..if he came here to take us away, he'd hit Severus-Daddy. But then, he's a wizard….do you think he'd be able to turn HIM into a toad or something and use him in a potion?"

Sirius wagged a reassuring tail. He scarcely thought that Severus would have any trouble handling a muggle, however violent.

Jade went on,

"Krait says that she'll deal with HIM. I think she's going to kill him. I certainly hope so."

Sirius found that chilling. A babe her age shouldn't know about such things; but having seen her father murder her mother….

"It's a bit like having a real family like you read about in books" said Jade. "Book families often have dogs, like the Famous Five. George has a dog, and she has parents, and her Daddy is a bit like Severus-Daddy, he spends a lot of time reading and researching and stuff and he barks at people who disturb him….but Severus-Daddy never barks at Lydia and me, he always finds time. That's what being a real Daddy is about, isn't it?" she appealed to Sirius who wagged his tail again. "I could almost think you understood me" said Jade. "I think I shall start to call him Daddy properly. It would make Lydia more comfortable if I called Krait Mummy, but I don't think I can just yet. I think I'll try and not call her anything while I wait for it to be more comfortable…..I guess my mummy would be glad we've got someone to love us now…..I love you too, Wolf, of course, but it's not the same as Mummys and Daddys" she hugged him. Sirius felt quite choked up and dropped his stick to give her a big lick. It was all he could do in this form. Jade did his ears. "And one day I shall win a Triwizard competition like Harry is going to and make them extra proud of me" she said firmly. She threw his stick for him again and Sirius had perforce to collect it.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: **An Unexpected Arrival

Severus was marking essays on Sunday and Krait was reading 'Transfigurations Today' – a magazine she had borrowed from Professor McGonagall – and arguing out loud with one of the articles. Severus half listened with deep amusement to her carefully rounded insults that she heaped on the author. The girls had gone to play with Draco, whom they accepted as a spare uncle once they had got over their nervousness of his close resemblance to their natural father. Draco for his part was quite captivated, having no siblings, and enjoyed basking in the hero-worship of two small girls. Sirius was spending the afternoon with Harry and friends.

There came a knock at the door.

"Come" said Severus.

The door opened and in walked a small boy, of an age to be a first year; but with mismatched clothing and a wary look and quite obviously not a Hogwarts student.

"A girl called Myrtle told me to come here, sir" he said. "I – I did wonder if she was an angel at first, if I'd died, but it did seem strange for Heaven to be in a toilet."

"Ah, my boy, come on in" said Severus. "Krait will fix you cocoa…you may know her as Augusta, but she's changed her name… and if you would care to pull up your shirt we'll see to your back."

The boy blinked.

"Were you expecting me? Myrtle said this is a school for wizards and witches….I was a bit sceptical…"

"We were HOPING that others with talent would find the door" said Severus "And knowing what that place is like to assume your back is in need of attention scarcely calls for any degree of deep divination. Do as you're told, lad, and either pull up or take off your shirt" he added with some asperity.

"Uh…sorry sir." The lad stripped his shirt off and Severus examined his back.

"_Episkey"_ he muttered. "That deals with the most recent beating…old scars I cannot deal with. What is your name?"

"David Fraser, sir. What happens now? Won't they follow me?"

"The door you came through is only visible to the magically talented…they will not see it. So far as they are concerned you vanished from the cupboard like a puff of smoke. Sit down, drink cocoa and tell me your life story."

David sat down and sipped.

"Thanks, Augus – Krait I mean. Well, sir, I lived very happily with my parents and baby sister until two years ago when a drunk driver slammed into the side of their car and killed them all in one go….for which he got the grand total of three years" he added bitterly. "I got to stay with my Gran for a couple of days, then they took me to the orphanage because they said an elderly lady couldn't look after a young boy" he scowled "Though I don't see what the difference is, I got put in the care of a dozen old cows"

"Muggle ways can be very strange" said Severus. "Muggles are what we call the non magical" he added as David looked puzzled.

"Yeah. Anyway, I ran away back to Gran a couple of times but they always brought me back and threatened her with prison if she took me in; and when I wrote to her about how awful it was, the nuns read my letters – they READ private letters – and beat me for being wicked and ungrateful. I was thinking about running away and throwing myself in the Thames" he said "Cos then the Fuzz would have to take notice, wouldn't they?"

"Ah!" said Krait, her eyes sparkling. "Are you up for a bit of deception, young David?"

"I guess…what do you mean?"

"You'd have to trust Professor Snape here to catch you….but if you mailed a suicide note to your Gran – we could let her know you were safe really – then jumped off Tower Bridge, Sev – er, Professor Snape could cast a hovering charm on you right before you hit and float you through the air to safety."

David's chin went up.

"Will it GET those bitches?"

"Oh yes" said Krait softly. "Wouldn't have worked for me, I was taken out….even if I'd thought of it. Are you up for it? You'll have to be brave."

"I'm up for it." He turned to Severus "I trust you, sir. I FELT those wounds just heal. I believe. When do we do it?"

"Monday rush hour" said Severus "Which will slow up the law enforcement officers from getting so quickly to the scene and explain your body being lost in the current. I'll send an owl with a message to your Grandmother tonight….I'll pick an intelligent one that will show her that it carries a message."

"Borrow Hedwig" suggested Krait. "Harry won't mind under the circumstances, I'm sure."

Severus nodded.

"I'll ask him when he returns with S – Wolf." She pulled a face. "Y'know if I'd had any sense I'd have called him Cerberus with the soft pronunciation; it would have been easier to cover slips, and Lord knows the daft mutt can get confused enough to think he has three heads…"

Severus chuckled.

"I think your prejudices are showing" he said. He did not mind in the least that Krait had a few prejudices against Sirius.

Harry was happy to loan Hedwig, and explained to the scops owl what was required. Hedwig headed off, hooting and whistling with self importance carrying a letter from David and an explanation from Severus. Severus spoke to Professor Dumbledore; and David was provided with a partial uniform by dint of Severus demanding such items as Argus Filch had in his lost property cupboard – one sweater was labelled Bill Weasley and had therefore been there a number of years – and placed him firmly in the care of little Dennis Creevey who was delighted to do a favour for Harry, whom he idolised.

"I can leave instructions on the blackboard for my sixth form class" Severus said "To be getting on with until I get back with David; he can be hatted tonight and I'll take him to Diagon Alley first thing. We can get most of his purchases before he has to make his leap, it'll keep his mind occupied. That's a brave little boy"

"Isn't he?" said Krait. "I don't know him well…I never had much to do with his age group. I take it Professor Dumbledore is happy for the school to support him?"

Severus nodded.

"I used some of what you gave me to pay back some of your own scholarship…I thought you'd want me to. And Albus was impressed by the boy's attitude."

Professor Dumbledore had interviewed David, and liked what he saw; and was probably secretly delighted when the Hat declared him to be a Gryffindor. Little Dennis Creevey yelled and shouted in delight anyway; and Harry and his friends clapped hard. Dumbledore had been rather startled when Severus explained laconically how he had helped Harry and friends to set up a gateway for the magically active to escape from the orphanage; but if Severus and Harry were working together on any projects that had to be a distinct improvement on their previous enmity. And if it took paying for the education of any number of barely adequate students who might emerge from the cupboard, so be it; Harry's protection was greater than any other thing.

-/-

David was thirsty for knowledge of the wizarding world; and asked Harry as the biggest boy he had met. Harry gave him a brief explanation, which included a warning about Voldemort. David frowned.

"He's a great wizard, yeah, but can he stop bullets? Lots of bullets at once? I mean, have you ever thought about using machine guns on him and his followers like you do on any other terrorists?"

"I hadn't" said Harry. "Besides, I'd not know how to get hold of them.. aren't they illegal?"

"I know HOW" said David "If there's only a grown up who'd do the dealing…."

"What are machine guns?" asked Ron.

David stared.

"How can you not know that?" he asked.

"Same as you don't know what a switching charm is" said Hermione quickly. "Two different parallel worlds."

David grinned.

"Even better" he said. "Look, if wizards don't even understand modern weaponry….I do, I wanted to be a soldier before my mum and dad died….I could teach people that fight this Fishface…."

"Snape" said Harry. "He'd get them. He doesn't care that much for tradition and that if there's a better way….you just got elected onto Team Deathwish as Krait calls us."

-/-/-/-

David was excited and not a little frightened. He hadn't had much time to get too scared, and he was grateful to Professor Snape for that. Hedwig had returned from his Gran's with a note from her…Gran was a wonderful woman, she took everything in her stride including owls bearing letters, just asking for more information but advising him to wait until the inevitable police investigation had blown over. He grasped his cauldron full of strange equipment and swallowed hard as they approached Tower Bridge. The suicide note he had carefully written was in a postbox, addressed to his Gran. He was back in the mismatched clothes of the previous day, for witnesses to describe; but his school clothes were in the cauldron ready to change into. It was a fine bright day; it would be good for witnesses, but David hoped that would not make it harder for Professor Snape. Harry had loaned what he called an invisibility cloak; and David hoped profoundly that it worked. He passed the cauldron to Professor Snape and set off alone onto Tower Bridge.

-/-

Severus watched as the small figure of the determined little boy climbed onto the railing. So much misery in that terrible place….so many people to punish sensitive children, not even the guarantee of getting rid of the worst to work each day…. David was pausing long enough to make sure he had everyone's attention….that was good. Severus ducked under the invisibility cloak and grasped his wand firmly.

There was a collective scream and gasp as the boy launched himself outwards, legs cycling and arms flailing in the air. Severus watched, forming his thoughts, and cast the spell at the last possible minute. David stopped falling with a slight jerk, like a parachute opening; and Severus lowered him quickly to the shadow beneath the bridge, releasing the hovering charm on a sack of bricks he had prepared so it dropped into the water with a loud splash! David he drew cautiously towards him and tossed the invisibility cloak over the lad as soon as he was within reach.

"No wonder Harry and his friends managed to get into so much trouble with this piece of kit" he muttered to himself.

"It was awfully nice of him to share the secret with a teacher for me" said David.

"Yes, it was…" said Severus. Harry had immediately volunteered the use of the cloak when Krait had outlined the idea of showing up the muggle orphanage to the muggle authorities. How could he have been so mistaken in the boy? Pride and jealousy, he answered himself, with a strong tinge of self-pity mixed in with it. He and Harry shared a horrified shock over the nature of this orphanage, yet it was no worse than the excesses Voldemort…Tom Riddle….would have liked to have seen….if it took such to remove the scales from his eyes and Harry's over each other at least the place served some useful purpose in the long term. Tom Riddle's ambitions would mean so much worse to so many more.

"Are we going to go now sir?" asked David.

"Change under here….then if questioned you are my pupil up in town for the dentist or something" said Severus. David nodded obediently and did as he was told.

There was no difficulty leaving the area; people were flocking to stare at the scene of the tragedy, and the description of a small boy in blue shorts and yellow hoodie in no way corresponded to a lad in sober school uniform. Severus guided David past the crowds to a place where they could apparate back to Hogsmeade.

"Gran will tell the police and with luck they'll put the two events together" David said. "Even London cops are bright enough to do that. With the complaints of beatings in my letter they almost have to investigate, don't they?"

"Oh yes" said Severus in a soft, dangerous voice. "And they will talk to other children…maybe even someone will find the complaint Krait made that got her punished several years ago….the cupboard will be mentioned…they will use science rather than magic but they will find evidence of fear and urine in there, and blood too, some of which they will match to you"

"Yes, they can get DNA off my toothbrush" said David enthusiastically. "I'm officially dead now, aren't I?"

"You are…it may prove an inconvenience in the muggle world should you ever need to use it, but documents can be easily forged….You are part of the wizarding world now."

"Awesome!" said David. "I want to talk to you about guns, sir, in relation to Fishface…Harry said you'd be the grown up to ask…." Quickly he outlined his idea. "There's a magazine called 'Guns and Ammo' and you can buy stuff through it – it's hard to get because of legality problems but if you know what to look for some of the 'replica' guns are only disabled by being missing firing pins and they'd not be hard to manufacture. Only it has to be an adult getting things."

Severus nodded.

"It is an interesting idea….I will get a copy of this 'Guns and Ammo' and you can talk to me about things….crossbows I am familiar with, we use those occasionally, Professor Hagrid has one which he uses for self defence against any of the larger creatures in the Forbidden Forest. And goblin-made arquebuses and pistols. But rapid fire….that I think no wizard could cope with. And if you made the bullets from silver, that should work against werewolves too…many werewolves support Fishface…we will learn to shoot these weapons of yours. Actually it will be easier to get them than you think – if they can be purchased openly abroad, we could just apparate back to Hogsmeade or nearby with them….I am competent enough to apparate long distance and Sirius Black is even better. You never heard that name, Fraser" he added sharply.

"No sir" said David. "What name?"

Severus gave a brief smile.

"Harry may tell you more….if you are training us you may well be entitled to know more than a first year ought…you have enough to do with catching up with your studies, but if you join us in our fitness runs early in the morning the rest of the team will help you with that."

David brightened.

"Stamina training is perfect for soldiering…and assault courses, especially those that require teamwork to help learn to work together."

"It looks as though you're talking yourself into a job, son" said Severus dryly. "It is time to put aside false notions of pride; MUCH as it goes against the grain to give ground to a pupil I will take orders from you in your field of expertise; but I'll be hard on you in class."

David nodded.

"I understand sir" he said. "It's a sort of secret society against Fishface…we have equality within it but we have to prove the self discipline to act as though we're not comrades to you but pupils out of it."

"A succinct summary, Fraser. It's no point you going late to your Arithmancy class, it's half over; go and read several chapters about it, then go to dinner." To David's amazement they were already back at the castle, and he was hardly conscious of having walked up the road to reach it! And he had an important task to carry out – he would not let Professor Snape down!

_David was one of those characters who turned up one day, fully formed, in my head so I pointed him at the page and let him get on with it. He's an independent sort of kid and has his own ideas of the dialogue I ought to be writing for him. He did solve my problem of how to introduce the concept of high velocity rifles however as I did not think it would occur to Krait. I'm not the only person to have independently had the idea that this might be a good idea but I hope I handle my plans sufficiently differently not to look like plagiarism. _


	28. Chapter 28

_Coarse word; also adult feelings_

**Chapter 28: **The Second Task

Harry finally got around to listening to Cedric Diggory's advice, and listened to the message from the egg underwater, with embarrassing comments and help from Myrtle; and was royally castigated by Hermione when she discovered that he had not been as far on as he had previously suggested. They were still discussing it at the morning run.

"Potter, I hate to undermine your self confidence" said Severus with something like his old malicious glitter in his eye "But you are quite the idiot at times. Almost all problems can be surmounted by potions; and asking Krait to turn you into a fish is against the rules anyway, I think you'll find. Try searching in books about potion ingredients….you may take the requisite from my stores."

"Uh, thanks, sir!" said Harry. "Potions….I'll do that."

"Make sure you do" said Hermione severely "And don't hang about this time, you've wasted enough time already."

"He who procrastinates may not have to do it" grinned Krait. "Ask Neville to help you…if it's any plants you're after he's bound to know."

"Oh!" said Neville "I do – it was in the book Professor Moody, I mean Barty Crouch loaned me – it's gillyweed. I – I mean he wanted Harry to win, so he'd put out good clues, right?"

"Right!" said Hermione.

"Kind of takes the sport out of it having Professor Snape offer to let us take it" grumbled Ron.

"Then use the cloak and take it at midnight" said Severus "And if you get caught by Filch I will in no wise extract you from your richly deserved punishment…it's entirely up to you."

"Right!" said Ron, brightening.

"WHEN will you boys grow up?" sighed Hermione.

"When they turn about forty five…..maybe" said Krait. "It's the nature of the male of the species….you said something Severus?"

"I choked indignantly" said Severus. "But please! Do not let my indignation in any wise disturb you from your calumny of my gender…"

Krait chuckled at him.

-/-

The second task was just as stupid as the first in Krait's opinion, with each contestant to rescue their best loved friend. Harry chewed his revolting gillyweed and sprouted gills; Cedric used a bubblehead charm and Viktor Krumm used an incomplete transfiguration into a shark. Fleur Delacourt also used a bubblehead charm.

"I'm going to see what's happening" Krait muttered to Severus. She ran lightly to the edge of the lake and dived, transforming as she arced through the air into a dolphin. Deep she dived, watching for the contestants in the murky depths, delighting in the way her streamlined body cut through the water. She wiggled her fins at Myrtle, who was watching Harry as he dealt with a group of grindylows with an inventive use of his wand. She had no intention of interfering….unless anyone was out to kill Harry. Consequently she saw Harry release the limp body of Ron, and stay to watch that Cedric collected Cho, and help Viktor by giving him a sharp rock to cut Hermione loose. There was no sign of Fleur. Harry was disputing with the merpeople; he saw Krait.

"Find Fleur!" he was mouthing "I'll get the kid!"

Krait waggled her fins hoping he had read Biggles as a child and recognised the airman's signal of compliance and swam off. At least he'd realised who she was, though dolphins weren't generally common in Scots lakes. She used her superior tracking sonar; and soon found the French girl fighting a losing battle with grindylows. The girl had tears of pain and fear flowing down her cheeks and was cut in several places. Krait barrelled through the grindylows sending them flying with her powerful wake; and picked up Fleur on her back. The French girl hammered on her back.

"My sister…Gabrielle…they 'ave 'er…"

Krait concentrated and formed bubbles that wrote like fire writing on land

"Harry has her - you are hurt" and took the distraught girl back to shore. Fleur tumbled off her back in the shallows and Krait swam to a more private place to climb out as her sonar told her Harry with two hostages in tow approached the lake's edge. She climbed out and hurried over to the girl who was half way to hysterics but peering at the lake in the kindly grip of Madame Maxime.

"Harry has your sister" she said. "When you didn't come he sent me to find you…he was bringing her up last I saw."

"YOU are ze dolphin?" Fleur was impressed. "Why are you not ze 'Ogwarts champion?"

Krait laughed.

"Oh, I'm under age too…and I'd rather do my lessons than get involved in some…competition." She managed not to say 'stupid' as Fleur had obviously been a willing competitor. "I'm in Harry's class and as both his best friends were down there I got paranoid about things…"

"Are all ze leedle children your age so skilled at 'Ogwarts?" asked Fleur. "Gabrielle!" she cried, as Harry emerged, and rushed off without waiting for an answer.

"I do WISH people wouldn't make an issue of my size" muttered Krait. "as if size mattered….." she grinned at Madame Maxime "But don't they always?" she appealed to the French head.

"Zere are some stupid people in ze world…excuse me" the large woman went to her pupil who was busy hugging the little girl Harry had rescued to her and praising Harry fulsomely.

-/-

The judges generally seemed to find Harry's actions laudable and he was credited with high marks because of it. The substitute judge from Durmstrang – Karkaroff having vanished untraceably since the Dark Mark burned black – had marked him lower but he was now slightly in the lead! Krait was more interested in Hermione's strange actions. Krumm said,

"You haff a water-beetle in your hair, Herm-own-ninny"

"I do? How interesting!" said Hermione. She reached into her pocket for a small glass jar. "Where is it, Viktor? I adore beetles."

Krumm picked off the beetle and put it in Hermione's jar for her. She slammed the lid on quickly.

"Thank you Viktor" she smiled warmly at him.

"Nice" said Krait to herself.

-/-

The real Professor Moody had rejoined the faculty; and he stumped over to congratulate Harry. Crouch had got the mannerisms very well, Krait reflected. Severus had suggested she rejoin the class with her classmates and she had unwillingly agreed. Their discussions, often disputational, had taught her far more, she felt, than a classroom situation could; but Severus had not said he would discontinue her private lessons. She considered suggesting that Harry join them, for he needed more defence against dark arts then anyone else, even as she did. She was torn; for her private times with Severus were precious to her, even though he was careful to avoid too much physical contact with her. She was content to note him watching her, and to sit at his feet with her head against his knees; and if they wanted more, it was a forbidden subject by tacit consent. But…Harry needed more instruction. Krait had an idea.

-/-

"Severus, if we ran a bit earlier, we could have extra Defence classes afterwards….we could go into Myrtle's loo, and we could also use that time for David to teach us about guns" she said.

Severus nodded.

"Others are noticing though…we need some kind of cover for our meetings."

Krait grinned.

"Why not claim it as some kind of muggle study club?" she said. "We could claim to be emulating the boy scouts with our physical training…and claim to be doing scout badges afterwards. Very few people would be interested in doing more muggle studies, they'd leave us alone."

"I like it… the Muggle Studies Hobby Group. We can get Hermione Granger to be terribly earnest about it if people ask questions and bore them to sleep…."

Krait giggled.

"Unkind but powerfully true I'm afraid….she's caught the bug queen you know? No more damaging articles!"

"Good. We could do with some good news."

"You've had bad news?"

"No…but the real Moody is a suspicious old b…er, man and he's been questioning me about my affiliations and searching my office, and if he runs true to form he'll be doing that regularly."

"Oh WILL he!" said Krait, her eyes bright with indignation. "Well, let's give him something to find."

"What?" he expostulated. "And what sort of things anyway?"

Krait gave him a roguish look.

"Several pairs of my knickers….."

Severus burned.

"KRAIT!" he said.

She chuckled.

"Don't you want to take care of some of my knickers then? I could tuck them into your pocket right before potions class to keep them warm for me…."

She had little opportunity to say anything more for a while because Severus had swept her into his arms, kissing her thoroughly while his hands explored.

He raised his head.

"Sometimes you drive a man too far…." He said hoarsely.

"Depends what you call too far" said Krait, pulling his head back down to hers.

At last he deliberately let go of her and stepped away.

"It gets harder every day…NO puns, please dear!" as he saw her start to grin.

"HE will contact you soon enough…..we might as well enjoy each other" said Krait.

"I am afraid of him perceiving if we have an understanding….besides, you are still too young….Sirius' derision is well founded…."

"BUGGER Sirius" said Krait.

"Not even for all the wealth in Malfoy manor" said Severus dryly. "I want to wait…you are of age in the Muggle world I know, but…"

"As you wish, love" Krait touched his face. "But I still say we should leave, er, trophies for Moody to find….to keep him amused…maybe I could steal a pair of Madame Maxime's just to suggest you like variety…."

"You are outrageous!" he laughed.

"I do my best."

-/-

Krait decided to tackle Professor Moody head on and tapped at his office door, entering to his grunted permission. She surveyed him thoughtfully.

"You're the girl who had suspicions about that fellow who took my place, aren't you?" he demanded. Krait nodded.

"One of them….he enjoyed showing the cruciatus curse off…it was horrible to do that to a dumb creature."

"Rather he did it to you then? Ah yes, but he did…I can see why you give me odd looks from time to time. Constant vigilance!"

"Yes sir, I agree. And then there's freaking out your allies by not trusting them and searching their stuff" she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Severus Snape" she said crisply. "Surely if you're Professor Dumbledore's friend you know he's under enough strain without being pulled over by his own side. It's unreasonable, sir."

Moody glared at her. Krait glared back.

"I never trusted Snape's conversion" he snapped. "I don't trust him."

"Based on what? Professor Dumbledore trusts him; and he's a better legilimens than Fishface I bet" said Krait. "'Cos Professor Dumbledore sees the whole person, and probably reads body language as well as trolling through stray thoughts; and Fishface is so mentally limited like all megalomaniacs because he's looking for just betrayal type thoughts not the whole personality….of course if you don't trust Professor Dumbledore either I guess you're going to be more a hindrance than an asset to the good guys, because you'll be too busy looking for traitors to actually fight Fishface and that makes you more of an asset to him than to us because setting people against each other is what HE'd like most….and he'd laugh at us and rightly so."

Moody blinked. Cheeky young thing! Though there was something in what she said…..

"Are you saying, young lady, that I'm paranoid?"

"No sir. I'M paranoid….Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people AREN'T out to get you…I'm saying you're maybe a bit too paranoid, and besides anything else, wrong in your suspicions."

He grunted disbelievingly.

"And how can a chit like you know? You weren't even born when Snape became a Deatheater." He watched her narrowly to see if that was news to her. Since it wasn't she made no reaction.

"No sir….well, if Professor Dumbledore does not consider you trustworthy enough to know anything that's going on, I think I should leave. I need to buy some mousetraps to scatter amongst Professor Snape's things to make your searches more entertaining."

Moody laughed.

"You are a very insolent young lady…and a very partisan one." His eyes narrowed. "YOU then are he-who-must-not-be-named's daughter."

"Fishface takes less long to say" she said mildly. "You know about me?"

He nodded.

"Albus Dumbledore told me you were headstrong, pert and utterly dedicated" he grunted. "And I worry to see you under Snape's dubious protection."

"And I worry to see his supposed friends causing him hassle" she snapped. "It's tough enough without having to worry about him flying apart at the seams because you put him under excess pressure here….I'm pretty certain he's too strong for that, but Puh-lease! You're an auror, you must have spent some time sneaking around getting close to people….you should be aware that any distraction is seriously unhelpful to total concentration…and only with total concentration can we achieve constant vigilance."

"Do you trust him utterly?" he asked. "And to quote you back, on what grounds do you base that trust?"

"I do. On grounds that I understand him….I have seen into his mind….we think so often as one…" she looked at him narrowly. "And he loves me. I have eavesdropped on his nightmares, Professor Moody, and you can't hide your true self in them."

"He could have pretended a nightmare if he knew you were in his room…."

Krait snorted.

"I've been soothing assorted children with nightmares for years….I know the genuine article. I could write BOOKS on nightmares."

"Well, girl, it's your life that depends on you trusting him"

"Why, thank you, thank you!" said Krait fatuously. "It is indeed. And my life that also depends on keeping him calm and ready to act. Besides, if you're searching for means to contact my father I don't doubt but that the scaly little monster will provide something quite soon….that we'll need. I'm sure you're a great auror and a loyal friend to Dumbledore but please give us room."

He regarded her narrowly; and nodded.

"Call on me if you need me girlie" he said.

"I will….I've no false pride. But let Severus' actions speak for him….you'll be ready to apologise to him before long."

` "We shall see" he grunted.

-/-

The only great excitement to occur in Severus' Potion Dungeon was in the class preparing the wit-sharpening potion

"Which" Severus said "Most of you are in dire need of."

"Especially Goyle" murmured Krait "Who has difficulty concentrating on both breathing and stirring at the same time which is why his potion has gone ghastly yellow."

Draco who heard her, gave a wry grin.

The time came to taste their potions.

Krait's tasted pleasantly gingery, and had no aftertaste of either armadillo bile nor scarab beetle; and she felt suddenly filled with understanding for an arithmancy problem she had been puzzling over and quickly jotted down her thoughts before she forgot them.

She was a little disturbed in her efforts when Goyle threw up messily; and jumped back to avoid being vomited on.

"HEY!" said Draco "Look where you're spewing, Goyle!"

Goyle made horrid noises; then pointed at Krait.

"She mucked up my potion!" he accused.

Krait raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me? I should bother why? you can make a mess of your own work without me having to help you" she said "Don't blame your own sloppy workmanship on other people….your ginger root is beside your cauldron untouched because you forgot it you baboon."

"Quite so Goyle" said Severus. "You were careless; now get a cloth…no, I don't trust you to clear up adequately…_Evanesco!_" he waved a wand, taking vomit and failed potion both and banishing them to the elsewhere place.

"I'll get you Day… I mean Malfoy" Goyle resented Krait even more now she had social position, especially as Draco now spent more time with her than with his former cronies.

"You and whose wand?" Krait asked, bored. "But by all means, carry on oinking; we've not had bacon for breakfast for several days, perhaps they're short…."

Goyle's eyes took on a wild look; and he took a step back.

It was his misfortune that he stepped back onto Severus' foot and ended up in detention skinning flobberworms.

_reference to Captain W.E. Johns 'Biggles' series_


	29. Chapter 29

_Warning; __Not everything that happened to Jade and Lydia before the orphanage was pretty either_

**Chapter 29: **Nobody ever said Krait was Totally Nice

Krait celebrated her seventeenth birthday quietly with her friends, using some of Lucius' allowance to buy some goodies for a small party. She held it in Myrtle's loo so Myrtle could be present.

"It is nice of you" said Myrtle dolefully "I only wish I could join in properly"

Krait thoughtfully regarded a bun. She concentrated on it hard and thought about insubstantiality as she had with her arm to hug Myrtle. She pushed hard against the barrier and passed it to Myrtle. Myrtle squealed with delight.

Harry stared.

"I didn't know that was possible"

"It isn't" said Hermione "But when has that ever stopped Krait?"

Krait grinned.

"'Smazing what you can do for love" she said. "Myrtle's my friend."

"Myrtle's really nice" said David Fraser.

They had a hilarious time with Draco displaying an unrevealed talent for comedy and mimicry; his impression of Ludo Bagman had everyone in stitches. And Hermione had a beetle to display.

"So all that remains is to tickle Snapelings!" said Ron wriggling his fingers at Jade and Lydia.

They shrieked in obvious terror and fled to hide behind Severus.

"I only…" said Ron

"Okay, Ron, you meant no harm…." Said Krait.

"Nobody blames you" said Severus. "Jadie, what is it?"

"HE had men in…we had to take our clothes off…they tickled us, you know you can't help but laugh when you're tickled even when other things feel bad and scary and nasty?" she clung to Severus. "And they took photos of us with them touching and tickling us and laughing…." She buried her head with a sob.

Sirius growled.

Severus' eyes were like flint.

"I will find so many ways to cause him hurt" said Krait.

"Seconded" said Draco.

"Yeah" said Harry.

"I don't understand" said Ron.

Krait explained, succinctly and pointedly. Ron was shocked, and his freckles stood out against his white face. Neville was crying at her explanation. Hermione was just angry.

"How are we going to kill this creep?" Ron asked angrily.

"I'm going to bite him" said Krait in a thin, distant almost abstracted voice. Harry shuddered; there were almost overtones of Voldemort's voice in it. "I'm going to produce a venom that has no counter that will kill him after as long as I can manage of agony. How DARE he do that to my babes?"

Severus had one child on each knee, rocking them, shushing them, clutched close; and Sirius came up and dropped his muzzle lightly onto one of his knees.

"Some things go well past ancient history, don't they?" said Severus quizzically. "We do see eye to eye about some things then, Padfoot."

David Fraser watched thoughtfully.

"He's not a real dog, is he?" he blurted. "He's someone in disguise."

Everybody stared at him. David quailed a little.

"Well he doesn't always act like a dog…..he understands every word people say" he said defensively.

"IS he someone in disguise?" asked Lydia.

"Daddy, do you know about it?" asked Jade urgently.

"Yes, love, I know…so much for not revealing it to the children to save frightening them" said Severus. "They already know real frightening…you might as well come out Sirius."

Sirius stretched his way into his normal form.

"Th-That's Sirius Black!" said Neville.

"Congratulations, Neville" said Severus. "And do you think I'd be party to hiding him if I supposed him guilty? The man he's supposed to have murdered is currently serving the dark lord as doormat in chief with subsidiary duties as chief arse licker and part time lickspittle. Sirius has to keep up his disguise in public, you younger ones and his life is in your hands. He's here for your protection as well as Harry's. I trust you will not betray the faith we put in you to keep his secret."

Jade and Lydia shook their heads vehemently.

"We do love Wolf" said Jade. "We won't betray him as Uncle Sirius. We're good at keeping secrets; HE made us keep quiet about the tickling, it's only because you're our proper daddy I could tell…and we never told the nuns lots of things."

"It is an environment that encourages deviousness" said Krait. "They won't talk…and nobody will even consider asking them…. Most adults assume small children are blind, deaf, daft and gormless."

"Quite" said Severus "Instead of which those unfortunate conditions usually start to come upon a child at eleven years old and progress rapidly over the next three or four."

Krait hit him with one of the cushions she had brought for them to sit on.

Her friends wondered how she dared! They also thought it a very good answer to Snape's insults.

-/-

David Fraser went up to Sirius.

"Will I be able to learn to do that one day?" he asked.

Sirius looked down at him, his nose twitching.

"I don't know…if you work hard at transfiguration, I don't see why not – if you really want to. That's the key to it, really wanting it and having a clear idea of what form you want."

"Oh I know that" said David. "I want to be a big black shaggy hound that's almost a wolf."

Sirius shot him a quick look.

"Well!" he said, thoughtfully.

-/-

Severus used apparating to take Krait near to the prison where Jonathon Malfoy was being held.

The two prisoners in the cell were horrified to see the huge ivory snake slithering through the bars; and shocked when it shimmered into the form of a beautiful woman.

Which was which was easy; Malfoy's cell mate was black.

"_Dorme et cum oblivium"_ murmured Krait; and the other man sank down in a stupor. Malfoy gaped, then grinned.

"WELL now, pretty!" he said, reaching for Krait. She eluded him easily.

"_Petrificandum totalum"_ she said contemptuously, freezing him where he stood, with a flip of her wand, now she was over age and had no wand trace. "Jonathon Malfoy, you are going to die. Not for murdering your wife; maybe she deserved it, though probably not. This I cannot know. You are going to die because of what you subjected Jade and Lydia to. You will have gathered I have abnormal powers; it runs in the family, and I will do all I have to in order to protect my little cousins. You will NEVER have the opportunity to hurt them or any other children again. I wanted you to know why you are going to die. You can't tell me if you understand, but I'm sure you must have got my meaning. I hope you burn you bastard!"

Before his horrified gaze she shimmered once more into the ivory serpent; and rose delicately to fix her fangs into his flesh. The last thing she did was to heal the wounds of her fangs, all but the last vestiges of one which she left seeming several hours old as some means poison could have been introduced but exonerating the unfortunate cell mate as having been the killer.

The poison hit just as the spell wore off; and Krait slithered from the window to the sound of his agonised screams.

Severus put his arms around her as she returned to her own form beside him and clung to him, shaking.

"I can feel no compassion for him at all" she said. "I looked into his soul…..all was greed and the desire to use. He used magic all unknowing to fascinate girls and use them….I think there are other children out there, but at least they are all safe now from him. Take me home; I feel sick."

-/-

Severus kept watch in the muggle papers for notice of a memorial service for David Fraser as well as the emerging scandal of the orphanage; and took Krait to see the police inspector in charge of the case at her suggestion.

"My ward made a complaint to a social worker before I took her out of the orphanage…they told the nuns and she was punished for it. I think you may wish to have your police surgeon take photographs of her back to add to your case" he said.

Krait was only too happy to make a statement to add to the evidence.

-/-

Once it was open, nobody was bothering David's grandmother any more, of course; and Severus went to see her.

"I did not want to risk bringing David" said Severus without preamble when she opened the door to him.

"You're the Professor with the amazing owl who claims to be a magician" she said. Severus winced.

"Please…Magicians do tricks on stage for entertainment. I am a wizard, as will young David be when he has completed his education at Hogwarts School for wizards and witches. I suppose you need some graphic demonstration."

She shrugged.

"Not really….either you can take me to him or you're an evil man who confused him into doing something stupid….and my nose doesn't think you're evil. I'm telling everyone I can't bear to live here any more, I've packed everything that's important, I can find somewhere to live near him I'm sure if you can put me up for a few nights."

"David said his Gran was amazing" said Severus. "Will you accept board and lodging in exchange for helping with my two adoptive daughters? They've had it tough, they need love…..I can't afford to pay you proper wages."

"Board and lodging is all I need….I have my pension for any little extras. I'd love to take care of your poor little mites. How old are they?"

"Jade is six, Lydia five…they're from the same orphanage and that's not the worst that happened to them."

"I see" she said grimly. "I'll do all I can to help. These are my bags, and I would like to take my rocking chair. Is that all right?"

"Perfectly" said Severus. "I'll borrow a house elf to help you move….you could take a little more if you wanted."

"Then my mattress would be nice….at my age a comfy mattress makes all the difference."

"I'll take you back first with an overnight bag….the rest can follow."

-/-

Soon David's Gran was ensconced in Severus' office having a tearful reunion with her grandson while Severus sorted out more accommodation next to the girls' playroom and directing Hogwarts house elves to bring her belongings.

It only took a few days before she became 'Gran' to everyone else including Krait; and even Severus caught himself addressing her as 'Gran' when he was talking to her!

-/-/-/-

The days seemed idyllic to Krait, with her beloved Severus and the children, now cared for properly during the day, even though they still insisted on sleeping in the dormitory with her. Pansy Parkinson had been less than enthusiastic about having 'brats' in the dormitory until Krait suggested sweetly that she should tell Professor Snape how she felt about his children. As Draco was clearly delighted to play with the children and Pansy was trying to worm her way back into his good graces she kept her mouth shut. She did make pointed comments about people who would want to learn more about muggles enough to get up early for it; and Krait laughed at her.

Into this happy little world reality intruded its ugly head. Severus was sitting marking books on the settee with Krait sprawled with her head in his lap when he convulsed and clutched his left arm.

He was pale and shaking.

"A summons from the Dark Lord…." He said.

"Will he want me too?"

Severus shrugged.

"I won't know until I get there if it was a general summons or just me…you'd better come along."

Krait nodded and they pulled on cloaks.

-/-

The mansion in Little Hangleton looked as uninviting as before; but now there was a board up in the garden declaring the property to be _sub judice_.

They went up to the room upstairs.

"Come in Severus….my daughter". Voldemort's voice was satisfied.

The pair went in.

"Master" said Severus in a tone of profound respect.

"My father" Krait echoed the tone. "In what way can we serve you?"

"You have had good ideas already….I have been moving to control the Riddle fortune to the howls of anguish of the muggle government who had taken possession as my dear father died intestate…my mother was married to him under muggle law and I had the certificate as well as my birth certificate showing I was born in wedlock…those people who had carved off slices of MY estates will weep blood before I am done with them, stealing my inheritance and paying peanuts for it because of nepotism and crookery…."

"Crikey! I should say, the mean little weasels!" said Krait with feeling. "Like it's always someone's brother in law gets the lucrative contracts….you've got a lovely lawsuit to play with if they've developed any of your land!"

Voldemort smiled nastily.

"I have solicitors queuing up to act for me" he said. "Severus, what is happening at Hogwarts?"

"Nothing significant" said Severus. "Potter is doing well in the Triwizard; I think he could win even without Crouch's guiding hand. There have been some adverse articles in Witch Weekly and Daily Prophet about Dumbledore's running of the school, but that sort of thing comes up again regularly….Karkaroff has taken off at the run which didn't surprise me."

"And you didn't make any effort to stop him?"

Severus shrugged.

"Why should I shorten the agony of his sweating terror? I never did like him, and he did try to rat me up…as well as splitting on Rookwood and removing your agent in the Department of Mysteries. Do you want me to seek him down and kill him?" he asked indifferently.

"No….I have others to undertake that kind of task. How does my daughter's planning progress?"

Krait grinned.

"I had a great idea…that required little trouble for me and will cause infinite trouble and embarrassment for my erstwhile tormentors. I have them in a muggle jail…and I can visit them whenever I want to cause them more pain and nobody will believe them."

"Good…how did you manage that?"

"One of their orphans escaped….an insignificant boy called David Fraser. Under the Imperious curse he wrote a suicide note and hurled himself off Tower Bridge. It was an interesting exercise in manipulation." Said Krait. "He did not take much persuasion…I think he had suicide in mind anyway. I left it to the muggles from there. Their police are slow, but methodical. Did I do it well father? I can play them for years if I wish!"

Voldemort nodded.

"Not the way I would have chosen….but you know your victims best…I like the idea of trolls but of course, as you say, you can play them for years…how are you getting on with Potter?"

"Pretty well…I've established myself in his circle of friends, I gave him some help over the second task…..having another girl around suits his mudblood friend Granger, because she's nearly as clever as I am and she likes to have someone who understands her….she's very much the one he listens to so getting influence over her is good….I also have the attentions of Draco Malfoy, his father has told him to try to get me as a girlfriend, he wants to tie himself to you by marriage as well as blood I expect."

"Ah, what else would I expect from my slippery friend Lucius" said Voldemort cynically. "So you have quite the little court?"

Krait nodded.

"It has its amusing side….they're pretty annoying but I can pretend to enjoy their company. I can also use Draco to awaken jealousy in Harry….he's not fully through puberty I don't think…..but that will give me time to read some books on what to do to make babies."

Voldemort was startled.

"Don't you know?"

"CATHOLIC orphanage…equating ignorance with innocence….some things I've figured out but…." She blushed "I still have gaps in my education."

Voldemort raised an eyebrow.

"Should I order Severus to educate you?" he asked, lifting her chin with one long fishbelly-coloured finger and gazing into her eyes. Krait let herself be filled with the panic of the comprehensive-school boy's assault on her and Voldemort laughed.

"Not so worldly wise as you pretend…..but soon, my daughter, someone will have to educate you if you want to steal Harry Potter's heritance. Wormtail is not immune to your charms…would you prefer him to educate you?"

"I'd sooner drink erumpent urine through a straw" said Krait emphatically. "If I need to be shown what to do I'd sooner learn from Leprechauns or garden gnomes….but I guess other teenagers manage to work it out as they go along, and I guess I can too."

"We shall see….Severus would like to educate you….perhaps school you too….wouldn't you Severus?"

"I will do as my Master commands" said Severus. Voldemort laughed again

"But some duties are more enjoyable than others…..you have served me well, Severus…I will consider deeply whether to give her to you or not."

"Thank you master" Severus bowed deeply. He let his eyes rest on Krait with a yearning he did not have to feign.

"And to the main reason for summoning you" said the dark lord. "I have a gift for you, Severus."

"Thank you, Master!" said Severus again.

"It is a globe of communication….safer than the floo network by far…..this globe is tied to another in my possession and when it glows I will be waiting to talk to you."

"My lord….thank you for your trust in me!" said Severus fawningly. "To be so close to you is a great honour!"

Voldemort smiled a thin lipless smile.

"Indeed it is…Wormtail resents me giving you this honour…he tried sulking about it. He is recovering from his sulks now."

Krait managed not to shudder. It was more likely that Wormtail was recovering from protracted torture.

"We appreciate it father" she said.

"A father must keep an eye on his only daughter" he said smiling humourlessly.

Krait curtsied prettily.

-/-

They laid the globe down in Severus' office and withdrew to the potions dungeon to discuss it.

"We must put it somewhere that seems convenient…but where it will reveal nothing" said Severus "In case it is more scrying devise than communication….if I fit up a cupboard as a special place I can tell him that I mean to conceal it from others….with a spell to make a small light if it should be glowing."

Krait nodded.

"I can't think of anything better….with a spell to stop sound either way? It would be a sensible precaution."

Severus nodded.

"Easy enough…and as you say, a reasonable precaution. I'll remind him that Moody is around, that ought to convince him any paranoia is reasonable."

They worked hard to make a communications booth; now they would have to be even more careful.

_Petrificus Totalis is the form usually used but Krait occasionally uses more grammatical Latin__ or a slightly different construction to that in the spell forms generally employed; petrificandum totalum means 'that which must be utterly frozen like stone' because it's a gerundive_


	30. Chapter 30

_Consensual sex implied _

**Chapter 30: **Love magic and blood magic

Everyone except exam students had gone home for the Easter Holidays, and Sirius had resumed his normal form for a lot of the day. Harry was with the Weasleys who were quite capable of protecting him from most things; and Krait had Severus to herself for a lot more of the time. Sirius had wanted some time with them, discussing their plans and experiences with Voldemort and his downtrodden servant.

"Sirius, I ask you in the nicest possible way, do not go after Wormtail" said Severus, softly.

Sirius' eyes narrowed.

"Why not? If I could catch the little rat it would mean my freedom."

"And Krait's and my death, if that meant anything to you, and higher risk to Harry for not having anyone who then knew the dark lord's mind" said Severus still softly. "If you go to Little Hangleton only WE could have told you. He will know, and I do not want to bargain my life for your good name which we will clear…as soon as is practicable. Were you recaptured it would be a different matter: we should seek a way to bring proof even if it meant more risk to rescue you from the dementors. But I ask you please: even if you still hate me enough to want me killed messily, to think of Krait."

"If you even try to get Severus killed…" said Krait furiously.

Sirius stood up abruptly.

"All right!" he said angrily "I didn't think that through…are you sure there is no way I could have found him through my own efforts?"

"I think it possible with information from Dumbledore you might have made educated guesses; but I do not think that HE would believe that. Like many people who are extremely clever but still limited he has an inflated idea of his own cleverness and a correspondingly low idea of the abilities of others. It is an advantage we can exploit; but it makes him more inclined to expect treachery than ingenuity or even blind chance leading to setbacks. Once they are separated, if he sends Wormtail off on a protracted errand, he will be ready to believe that Wormtail might make a slip that you could pick up on and exploit. Patience, Sirius….I know it is hard….Do you think I don't want it over?"

"I suppose so….I'm sorry" it was a grudging apology, but an apology none the less.

Krait spent some time brooding thoughtfully, feeling very much the oppressive influence of the quiescent but ever-present globe. Finally she spoke to Severus.

"Harry ripped power from Fishface though some effect of his mother's love when my old man cast a spell, right?"

"Yes….not just any spell…_Avada kedavra_ …you know this."

"The key is love more than anything else….love is the most powerful thing in the world, especially as in that case mother love…or so I've heard" she concluded a little sadly. "I was just wondering….if we used a kind of legilimency to totally enter each other's minds, would we both come away greater? I was thinking, for example, how advantageous it would be if you too were a Parselmouth…and perhaps it would connect us even as Harry seems connected to Fishface through his scar. He dreamed about him punishing Wormtail for sulking, you remember he told us….."

Severus nodded; Harry had agonised and finally decided to share the experience with Sirius and with Severus. Both had taken a serious view of it and adjured him to be certain and tell them any such dream as he had.

"I don't know if it will work or not, love; but it can't hurt….heavens knows you know enough about me….I am ready to share my mind with you."

Krait nodded.

"No time like the present?"

Severus nodded; and slowly they knelt, facing each other, taking each other's hands firmly, violet eyes meeting black ones…

The explosion of impressions from two freely opened minds was incredible; and each dived deeper into the other, exploring, learning, understanding, teaching…..

-/-

Two hours later Professor Dumbledore knocked at Severus' office door; and getting no reply, yet sensing the potion master's presence entered anyway.

Krait and Severus still knelt, handlocked in a grip so tight that blood flowed from the cuts their fingernails had inflicted each upon the other, mingling blood in a scarlet thread of magic.

-/-

When the two emerged from each other, Dumbledore was sat, quietly, on the worn settee. Neither noticed for a long moment.

_**ssss**__Are you alright, love?__**ssss**_ Krait asked.

_**ssss**__Yes…it has worked then?__**ssss**_ he sounded surprised and Krait laughed a little shakily.

"Yes, it worked….my dear, your hands!"

"And yours….I have hurt you…."

"We appear to have hurt each other…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. They both started.

"If I may say so, Severus, Krait, you appear to have engaged on a blood magic ritual, even if you did not mean to set out so to do….do you know what this means?" the headmaster asked.

"We are joined….irrevocably" said Krait, dreamily, gazing adoringly into Severus' eyes.

"It means if one dies, so does the other" said Severus, aghast.

"It means" said Dumbledore "That you are close enough to share all the experiences of each other…there is some choice in the amount. It has been postulated that the reason that if one dies the other dies too is because they are taking all the other's experience and that if there were more people involved they would have the advantages of sharing blood with the added advantage of being able to divide any pain and problems….but nobody has been insane enough to try it and see."

Krait shot a quick look at him.

"You mean that Harry could easier survive the time he has to meet Fishface if he had others to bleed for him" she said bluntly.

"I did not say so" said Dumbledore firmly. "I can only warn you that blood magic is a little understood field and to point out that nobody knows any absolutes about it. The most use it has had has been from dark wizards using involuntary contributions….the oldest and most powerful of magic of all is the magic of love, which as you know may protect powerfully. Incidentally, I think you two went a bit beyond any normal blood binding….it will help you to hide your emotions for they will be connected at a deeper level than normal legilimency looks. Severus, I was going to ask you to check some Pensieve memories of mine, but I think another time will do…."

"Yes…." Said Krait. "I have some rather specific plans for him right now….."

Severus burned and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Never get between a woman and her prey" he said.

-/-

Severus helped Krait up; both were shaky on their feet, and Krait almost fell. Severus picked her up and carried her into his bedroom.

They spent a long time exploring each other physically as they had explored each other mentally; and finally fell asleep as the sun came up, holding each other close. Jade and Lydia found them when they got up to discover that Krait was not in her dormitory bed.

The cups of cocoa the little girls brought were only half full and a little cold; but Krait praised them for their efforts, and Severus smiled at them, trying not to blush at being found so.

"We'll get up presently" he said. "What a treat to have cocoa in bed! But we got to sleep quite late because we needed to sort some things out…."

"Something big came up" said Krait with a perfectly straight face. Severus choked on his cocoa.

The little girls ran off happily.

"If we are going to put together a blood group around Harry, we should put them in it too….if Fishface gets wind of their existence and kidnapped them to force our hand…." She gulped "If we blood them in we will always know where they are….and be able to shield them from any pain he inflicted."

Severus had blinked at her first words.

"Albus said it was insane" he said.

"So's deceiving my father" countered Krait. "I thought he was giving rather specific, if somewhat veiled instructions…..all that information about sharing out wounds. Or rather, not instructions; but a suggestion that we could take up or not as we saw fit."

"It's still not a large group…it would bring risk to Harry if we were caught…and to the girls."

Krait shook her head.

"I didn't mean just Harry and the girls….Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Neville, David, and Ginny too….it would protect HER from being possessed again….Draco too, it would help stiffen him to feel the blood-bond when his father calls on him….and all with different skills to share. What do you think to that?"

Severus considered cautiously.

"I think it might work….they should be given a chance to think about it though….the idea of being bonded to Miss Granger does not flood me with joy, I have to say, nor Sirius." He pulled a face. "But it's about who are Harry's protectors, not what each of us like….we two are bonded closer, Albus said; so there would be no feeling of violation about bonding…."

"I did a kind of mini bond with Draco….just to give him some kin" she said. "He said he could hear words in Parseltongue after….I feel close to Draco, my thumb throbs when he's unhappy, but like a brother. I do NOT" she added "Feel at all sisterly towards you."

Severus gave a low chuckle and pushed her down into the mattress to prove that he felt anything but brotherly towards her too.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: **We be of one Blood, Ye and I

When the others returned to school reactions were mixed. Ginny was pleased and flattered to be included; though Ron went rather red and muttered that his mum might not like the idea.

"Will it work?" asked Harry.

"Unproven" said Severus. "Good sources seem to indicate a favourable prognosis."

"That's Severus-speak for he thinks so" said Krait.

"WILL you stop the unnecessary translations you – you minx?" demanded Severus. Krait lowered her eyes demurely, then peeped out through her lashes.

"As my Domine commands" she murmured.

Severus spluttered and changed colour several times.

"I think it's DISGUSTING!" said Hermione. "Sharing blood? How unhygienic can you get? You'd be risking blood poisoning and – and toxic shock and having the wrong antibodies. It-it's SQUISHY!"

"No, it's a magical ritual….that precludes anything unhygienic" said Krait.

"Well. I'M not going to be a party to it" said Hermione "And if Ron and Ginny have any sense they'll know that Mrs Weasley would be dead against it…I've read about blood rituals and they're all done by dark wizards."

"What about the blood ritual that stops the dark lord from attacking Harry at the Dursleys?" said Severus. "Are you calling Dumbledore a dark wizard?"

Hermione flushed.

"No, of course not…and I'm not saying you don't have good motives either Professor; but I think it's not nice."

Harry swallowed.

"I guess I'll take any advantage against Fishface….and I can't be in a much worse situation."

"I'm with you, Harry" said Neville.

"Obviously I am" said Sirius.

"Me too" said David.

"And I" said Draco firmly.

"And me" said Ginny.

"Not until I've written to mum and asked her" said Ron.

"Then tell me when you have" said Krait.

Ron nodded.

Hermione shook her head.

"I think you'd be making a big mistake, Harry" she said.

"Maybe I am" said Harry "But I've had enough happen to me and enough tough decisions to make, I'm going to go by my gut instinct with this same as I always have done."

-/-

Ron came over to Krait just two days later looking glum.

"My mum said absolutely not on any account was I to be involved in blood magic….and she told me not to let Ginny be either" he said. "I told Harry….it's not fair, I want to do what I can to help!"

"Ron, you're Harry's best friend…you and your family are just about the best thing that's ever happened to him" said Krait. "Don't you think that support is almost as strong as a blood bond? I bet you couldn't be fonder of Harry if he was your brother, and that really counts…he has to feel loved to give him strength."

"Yeah" said Ron, not too happy with casual uses of words like love for a friend but agreeing in principle with the sentiment.

Ginny approached Krait privately.

"I want to help Harry and I don't care what mum says…and if it means I can sleep without nightmares about being taken over again that's got to be good, right?"

Krait pulled a face.

"Your mum was nice to me….but Harry is the most important person in the world right now, and that means things like moral scruples have to bow before the greater good. Don't tell Ron, he'd be torn about having to split on you. Besides, I do actually believe that it WILL protect you from being taken over."

"Yeah, and he'd shout at me too…he's awful bossy and a prig besides, he gets cross if I so much as smile at a boy" said Ginny dismissing Ron with a toss of her red curls.

Krait sighed.

"If Hermione had been on board with it, Ron would never have thought about bothering to ask your mum" she said.

"Not like you to make so fundamental a mistake Krait" said Ginny.

"All right, I'll bite; what mistake did I make?"

Ginny tossed her effulgent mane again.

"You TOLD Hermione about it instead of letting her find out about it from a book of course! Hermione believes everything that's written down."

"DAMN!" said Krait "Mind you, there's not a whole lot that's been written; and THAT cautions about it being dodgy. I was going by additional information from Dumbledore….. oh well, perhaps she'll come round in the light of evidence. Or maybe we'll get into a mess through it and we'll need the smartest witch of her age to heave our sorry tails out."

"You don't believe that" said Ginny.

"No Ginny, I don't" said Krait. "I think we are on the verge of something profound and rather wonderful."

-/-

They met in Myrtle's loo for the joining ceremony. Ron and Hermione weren't there; and Harry missed them. He sighed.

Sirius laid a hand on his shoulder.

"This doesn't mean they can't join later….as they get older, perceptions change. They're still your best friends. We're your bodyguard."

Jade and Lydia were holding hands; they looked quite determined. Krait had explained that magic blood sharing helped everyone to protect everyone else and they could be found if bad people tried to kidnap them. They had accepted that explanation without quibble.

"Pity Moonie isn't part of it" said Sirius.

"Hardly practical" said Severus dryly "Since the nature of the ceremony is to share the magical nature of everyone….I'd be no use brewing his potion if I were howling at the moon myself."

"I suppose so" said Sirius. "What do we do?"

Severus pulled a face.

"I'm making this up as I go along" he admitted. "Krait got some effect from a childish form, a cut thumb…I suggest we slash across our palms and share solemnly with everyone else."

"We need some phrase to solemnise it" said Krait. "I can't think of anything better than 'we be of one blood, thee and I' from Kipling"

"So be it" said Severus. "Silver knives ready? We are ten…the best moment is in less than one minute….on my mark….cut."

There were assorted gasps of pain as the group cut their palms, Neville with his eyes shut. Jade insisted on doing her own; Lydia asked Krait to do hers. Then they were mingling, touching palm to palm "We be of one blood, ye and I"; and then they all joined hands together.

_**ssss**__We be of one blood ye and I __**ssss**_ said Krait. The response came from all:

_**ssss**__We be of one blood ye and I__** ssss**_

"We are one and many" said Krait.

"All for one and one for all" said David. "Because it's as true for us as for d'Artagnan and co…"

"And we can all access the chamber of secrets; and practise firing guns down there" said Krait. "Harry will have to bring Ron and Hermie down of course; and we might recruit others too who could learn to fight but weren't right for the blood group. Tea and crumpets are called for I think."

"I like the way you run ceremonies" said Ginny in approval.

The ceremony had taken a toll of tiredness

"Like we've all been out running" said Draco.

"What do you expect, brother mine?" said Krait, as she sat leaning against Severus. "It's powerful magic, and magic is as tiring as physical exercise when it's something big."

"I can feel everyone…" said Harry. "And I have an idea how everyone feels…"

"That's not so hard right now" said Ginny. "We all feel the same…knackered."

"No, that's not what I mean…there are differences in how people see things and feel….I can tell Severus from Sirius from Draco – all of you – by feel alone. It's in the blood….and when I get nightmares I know you'll get a wash of them too…"

"We don't any of us ever have to be alone again" said Draco. "We have others to reach to…"

"I understand the idea of dog" said David.

"No changing without a bit more transfiguration practice, Fido Fraser" said Krait firmly.

"Pots and cauldrons" said Severus.

She shrugged.

"You changed me….we were destined to be close, I could understand every step of your will. I'll put him into dog when he's had a few more lessons and see if the blood bond gives him the same advantage."

Sirius promptly changed into an Alsatian; and back again.

"It certainly has shared certain insights" he said.

"I see so many things clearly now that were just misty before!" said Neville. "It – it's like I've lived all my life before wrapped in a thick blanket since….since they destroyed my parents minds…now I can do magic, I know I can!"

"I always knew you could" said Severus. "Breaking into the blanket was something all the faculty despaired of….you have so much potential Neville, I'm glad you'll be able to put it to full use at last. It is very wearing marking essays that begin in the middle of an idiocy and ramble off into the terminal stages of incoherency. Especially when I know you take excellent notes."

Neville grinned at him happily.

"I may not be great at potions but at least I'm certain I shan't melt any more cauldrons."

"We are all increased by this sharing" said Krait; "And as we are realising we are all in rudimentary contact. If one is in need the others will know who and where….we must practise contact and we must practise passing around pain. We can shut Jade and Lydia out, I'm sure" she added.

Jade raised her head from Severus' knee to give Krait a Look; Lydia was already asleep from exhaustion against Krait's arm.

"Five thirty, tomorrow, run" said Krait. "Severus has one of David's magazines; we'll look at that after the run, so I'll bid you all good night."

-/-

Krait was getting a certain amount of hassle from other Slytherin girls; she and Pansy Parkinson had never got on well, and there was a girl called Veronica in the year above who had seemed to delight in picking on the new girl and point out how poor Krait was. Krait had made a point of giving the girl donkey's ears until she laid off; and now Krait was officially accepted as a Malfoy, Veronica had lost one of her weapons. But it was another girl in Krait's year, Abigail Greengrasse, who seemed to suddenly assume Veronica's mantle of bitchiness. Krait was puzzled; she had labelled Abigail as 'mostly harmless' and her younger sister Emmeline, a year below Ginny, as a 'jolly kid'. But Abigail came back from the holidays quiet for the most part and ready to snipe at Krait. She took an inordinate interest in Jade and Lydia too. The little girls avoided her but Abigail started asking questions of Krait.

"Where did the kids come from? Snape's not married is he? Who's their mother?"

Krait regarded her steadily.

"Why not ask Professor Snape? I'm sure he's not had much chance to sharpen his vocabulary recently, he'd love to loose a barrage of it on the tip of your curious nose and probably a curse or two as well."

Abigail sneered.

"Not that you even know who your father is"

"Knowing isn't always telling" said Krait. "What's your problem, Greengrasse?"

"I'M not the one with a problem" said Abigail.

"Then keep yourself and your lack of problems out of my hair" said Krait "And leave the kids alone or I will get stroppy."

-/-/-/-

Harry's scar woke them all a few days later.

"He's happy" Harry explained, wrapped in a blanket in Severus' office with a mug of coffee in hand. "It" he blushed "It was a feeling like when you kiss someone…."

"Hmph" said Krait. "I swear the nuns got those sort of feelings from hurting us…it's an aberration but it occurs. Could that be it?"

"Almost has to be I guess" said Harry. "Who'd kiss him? But….I got the impression more of Tom Riddle like he used to look…."

"High dominance people tend to have a high er, sexual drive" said Krait. "I read that in a book on criminalistics….he is high dominance, revolting though he is. If he used an illusion of Tom Riddle he could seduce those silly girls who like charming creeps.. or had Wormtail bring him some poor girl…and it might even be my fault, I suggested to him that he father an heir to be an hereditary bodyguard or seneschal."

"We need to bear this in mind but I don't see what we can do about it" said Sirius.

"If he's happy it's a fair bet someone else is miserable" said Krait. "Let's keep aware…but first let's go back to bed."

-/-

Krait was disconcerted to meet Abigail Greengrasse on her way back to bed.

"Where have you been, Malfoy?" asked Greengrasse.

"I might well ask you the same question" said Krait mildly. "And I'd bet I'm the only one of us that had a legitimate errand."

"Oh yeah?"

Krait regarded her with dislike.

"Yeah. Like it's any of your business, you not being a prefect. But Jade had a nightmare and wanted her dad; and what Jade wants Lydia wants too. Check with Professor Snape if you like to be so busy about other folk's business. I've shown you mine – ready to show me yours?"

"HA! Snape would back you up anyway – he's sweet on you" said Greengrasse sneering. "I have no intention of justifying myself to a mere fourth year."

"Suit yourself" Krait shrugged. "Like I really care if you slipped out for butterbeer or a snog with some drippy boy. I'd see about getting your beauty sleep if I were you – you definitely need it." She left the girl spluttering.

_if I haven't mentioned it before the quote 'we be of one blood ye and I' is from 'Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling. Krait likes Kipling. So do I. If any of you have never kippled I recommend it. _

_Reference also to Alexandre Dumas 'The Three Musketeers'_


	32. Chapter 32

_**Sorry this chapter randomly changed names on me, I think the problem is fixed now**_

**Chapter 32: **Occlumency

Krait's care for the little girls – who insisted on joining her at the Slytherin table for meals – did not pass unnoticed. Severus had explained their origins to other members of the faculty, and something of the reason for their attachment to Krait. Professor McGonagall spoke to Krait after Transfiguration class.

"My dear girrl, whilst it's natural for those two wee girrlies to run to you, it's no' fair on yourself. You're not having the chance at a girlhood yoursel'." She said in her rich brogue. "Severus is no' fair expecting it of you."

"Growing up in the orphanage kind of leached all that out anyway, Professor" shrugged Krait. "I can't go back to being a babe like most of the other kids here; even the sixth formers seem pretty childish, you know. At least I can make sure Jade and Lydia get a childhood, and enjoy it vicariously through them. And he doesn't expect it of me, it's my pleasure, especially as I bullied him into adopting them in the first place."

McGonagall's eyebrows went up.

"Bullied? Prrrrofessor Snape? That seems forebye an unusual situation."

Krait grinned.

"Nagged, then. Madam McGonagall, are you a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

McGonagall looked startled.

"Aye, I am."

"Then you know what Severus has to do….and that I partner him, because of who my father is…..there are other things that stop some of us being giddy children and people like Harry and me can't afford to be babes. At least my background prepared me for that."

McGonagall tutted.

"I dinnae like you being involved in that, not at all…..Professor Dumbledore said you insisted."

"I did….it gives us an advantage."

"You puir wee thing….Severus is no' the easiest to get on with….and a wee girrl should have a woman to confide in…if you ever need me, Krait, I'm here."

Krait regarded her thoughtfully.

"Thank you, Professor. I'll certainly bear that in mind."

-/-/-/-

"In light of your nightmares, Harry" said Severus "I have discussed it briefly with Professor Dumbledore and he feels – as do I – that you should study occlumency seriously to enable you to block them out if you so wish… or if you learn fast enough to control how much information you receive whilst making sure the dark lord cannot pick up anything from you."

"All right" said Harry.

Severus gave a thin smile.

"A few months ago the idea of sharing any thoughts with you through legilimency would have been abhorrent….we have come a long way in that time."

"Yes, sir" said Harry seriously. "The idea of letting you into my mind isn't half so scary as it would have been."

"Now let us review that statement….the idea is to PREVENT me getting into your mind….you should have the rudiments implanted almost at the instinctive level through the blood joining; we need to awaken those instincts. I will be rough with you. The dark lord will not be so sympathetic as I was even when I hated what I thought you were….I fully intend to look at you and see James to release my own dislike."

Harry nodded.

"All right" he said.

"All right _SIR_ if you please, Potter." Severus made the shift to gaze malevolently on James' son, who had no name of his own.

Harry gulped and Severus clenched his fists not to waver.

"All right, sir" Harry amended.

It was not nice; unpleasant memory after unpleasant memory crowded Harry's mind, most to do with humiliations by the Dursleys, some about dementors; a few involving Snape himself and his unfair treatment.

"You MUST fight me" said Severus. "Idiot boy, if you dwell on the worst memories you do nothing but give me weapons in the things that you fear. You must empty yourself of emotion."

"I can't do it sir with the confrontational style of teaching" said Harry "Because I've come to the point where I want to do well and make you proud of me as much as Sirius."

"But the dark lord will try to provoke you. You MUST control emotion. If you wallow in sad memories and let your anger take control of you, HE will take control of you as easily. You must be able to do it in hot blood, not merely in a friendly situation."

"May I comment?" said Krait.

"You're going to anyway" said Severus.

"Well, yes, but I do have nice manners….if Harry can see how to block in a non confrontational way he can apply the principles to controlling his emotions subsequently….Harry, if you search your blood you will feel how Severus deals with his emotional baggage."

"I admire the snake" said Severus "I picture myself cold blooded and uncaring of any setback; indifferent."

"I role play" said Krait. "I make myself believe the personality I project….it's the same thing, Severus role-plays snake. Calm first, Harry."

"We'll try it non-confrontational, lad" said Severus. "I find it easier to harness negative feelings….still, I managed with Krait. I will still be rough."

Harry nodded.

"Clearing my mind as best I can…."

Without the emotionally charged memories of his problems of Severus, Harry managed to stop Severus after only a few bad memories were awakened.

"Better" Severus was not displeased "And you're not trying to fight with shouting alone….which accomplishes nothing. Once more."

"Sound and fury signifying nothing" muttered Krait, earning a glare from Severus. She shrugged "So Shakespeare is a hack; but he has some good one-liners and sound-bites."

"Somehow" said Severus dryly "I fancy that the so-called Bard would be more insulted by having his literary efforts referred to as 'sound-bites' – HORRIBLE word – than by being called a hack. Now if Harry and I might get on? Thank you."

This time Harry pushed hard enough back to get the briefest of glimpses of Sirius' own memories…his unhappy childhood, his first encounter with the pretty redhead, Harry's mother; and his dislike of Petunia, which Harry could hardly fault; and the first trip on the Hogwarts express, his rejection of the hearty – and frightening – James Potter and Sirius Black who were ready to be judgemental…then he was shut out.

"Good" said Severus. "We'll continue to work on that daily….and Krait must learn to use a Patronus Charm."

"I can help her with that, sir" said Harry, eagerly.

Severus nodded.

"Good. Would you care to explain it to her?"

"If you wish….Krait, the Patronus Charm draws on everything in you that is positive….good feelings and such; and you project it to wrap you in protection or even to drive away evil attackers."

"I've got plenty of positive in my life right now" said Krait, cheerfully. She cast a sideways glance at Severus and ran the tip of her tongue lightly across her lips.

Severus flushed deeply and cleared his throat.

"Anything that is good can help" he said, too loudly.

"We could all practise defensive spells, sir" said Harry "And help each other. It would be useful to improve our abilities."

Severus nodded.

"Sirius will be a good teacher too….Harry, you should talk to him when he has the chance to change, you can use my office, about how he resisted the dementors….it's akin to occlumency."

The Muggle Studies Hobby group were very busy in the mornings!

-/-

The fourth years were returning from flying practise when Harry shuddered suddenly.

"Dementors!" he said.

Krait looked where he pointed. The fat little figure of Minister Cornelius Fudge was coming up the drive accompanied by four sinister and hideous figures that glided in his wake. Professor Dumbledore was hurrying angrily to meet him.

Naturally the Muggle Studies Hobby Group moved on a surreptitious intercept path to find out what was going on.

"FUDGE! What is the meaning of this?" demanded Dumbledore. "I told you to keep those creatures off my school premises…this is the second time you have flouted me!"

"Oh, but I have good reason, I assure you, headmaster" said Fudge. "Percy Weasley, who is a conscientious young man..." he glared as Ron made a rude noise "…reported that he overheard his young brother Ronald discussing the presence at YOUR school of a dangerous criminal, no less than Sirius Black." He looked triumphantly at Ron and Harry.

"Trouble with Percy" said Ron, loudly "Is he can't tell fact from wishful thinking….he hears half a conversation, understands less than half what he hears and puts his own interpretation on it."

"Nice one Ron" murmured Krait.

Fudge raised an eyebrow.

"Is that true Mr Potter?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yes" said Harry shortly.

"Then you won't mind these Dementors searching the school, if he's not here" said Fudge triumphantly.

"I however will….on general principals" said Dumbledore softly.

"Dementors have it in for Harry too" said Hermione loudly. "Because of having Fishface's powers in him. They're coming in!"

The dementors were certainly homing in on Harry.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUS!" _Harry roared; and a silver stag hurtled out of his wand

It wasn't only Harry the dementors were homing in on. Krait felt them sift her greatest fears, her moments of sadness and despair, as when she found Anna hanging…she felt like screaming in terror, running to hide, wanting to be sick, all the feelings she had experienced when it really happened, magnified; all the feelings she had then subliminated in order to make a dry, emotionless report to Mother Superior that the woman should not see her fear. These creatures would not make her show fear!

_"EXPECTO PATRONUS!" _ she echoed.

The silver shield from Krait's wand coalesced, became a knight in armour with a simple crown about his helm. His sword looked mightily efficient and he raised it.

Fudge stepped back involuntarily.

_**ssss**__Driving them off will do nothing __**ssss**_ Krait hissed to Harry. _**ssss**__They will still be looking for Sirius….we must destroy them.__**ssss**_

_**ssss**__HOW?__**ssss**_ Harry sounded stressed.

_**ssss**__With what they fear most of course….laughter. let me try this on one….you keep the others off me…__**ssss**_

She steadied her wand.

"Ridere, to laugh…imperative…_RI-DE_!" she cried, pronouncing the word carefully, concentrating all her energy on one of the dementors.

For a moment it seemed that nothing happened; then the faceless hood started to cackle a hideous laughter, worse than Voldemort's terrible mirth, tearing at the ears in its insane gurgling chuckle. Louder and yet louder grew the laughter, ripping through the summer's morning like a blizzard of maniacal sound, shrieking and whooping. And still Krait kept her wand focused, a look of implacable determination on her white, set face, though she trembled with the effort. And finally her efforts were rewarded; with one last despairing insane scream the dementor exploded!

Everyone watching ducked instinctively.

Being insubstantial to start off with there was, however, very little fallout from exploded dementor.

"Let's…get.. the others!" Krait panted. She was buoyed up by exhilaration, and found she could find more reserves than had previously been the case; the morning runs were paying off!

Draco, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville raised their wands too; there were two now to each dementor.

"_RIDE!"_ they shouted.

The sound was terrible, almost enough to drive a man to insanity himself with those despairing, hopeless shrieks and whoops of involuntary laughter. Fudge held his hands to his ears and cowered.

The result was inevitable before so much determination; and Krait noticed from the corner of her eye Dumbledore's wand twitch surreptitiously in the direction of Ron and Hermione's dementor as it seemed to get some control over itself. The head approved of their actions it seemed!

At last it was all over; and the stunned silence was almost deafening. Fudge pulled himself together and started looking for a scapegoat. His eye fell on Krait.

Krait decided to get her retaliation in first.

"You may be sure, Minister" she said, looking down her nose "That I will be making a complaint to my uncle about your irresponsibility in letting those revolting creatures loose on poor defenceless little schoolchildren like us."

"Poor defenceless schoolchildren? You've just killed four dementors, property of the Ministry of Magic!" Fudge squeaked indignantly. "And I don't care how many uncles you complain to!"

"Oh but you will, Minister" said Draco softly. "I, too, will be complaining to my father about how you put my cousin here in danger…not to mention his only son. I think that you will find the wrath of Lucius Malfoy as hard to laugh off as those Dementors did…" he dropped an arm about Krait's shoulders.

"You were elected on a fairness to the muggleborn ticket" said Hermione furiously. "But you don't mind risking my life either….or Ron's whose father works in the Ministry…or Harry's when he is who he is…."

"Or Neville Longbottom's, whose parents have already given everything for the wizarding world" said Krait. "And for what? The word of Percy Weasley, whom all the world with more than two brain cells to rub together realises is a wet, ninny-headed arse-lick!"

"Uncalled for, Miss Malfoy" said Professor Dumbledore.

Krait smiled at him sweetly.

"I do apologise for using crudities in front of YOU, Professor."

"You may write me a brief essay extolling the richness of the English tongue and the lack of necessity to utilise slang or swearing" said Professor Dumbledore. His eyes smiled at her, however. "I deplore, too the lack of self control the rest of you showed to the Minister…it is unbecoming for the young to describe too accurately the shortcomings of their elders, and you will apologise now."

The youngsters looked at each other.

"We're sorry minister" they chorused dutifully.

Ron was heard to mutter, but fortunately NOT by the minister,

"Yeah, sorry you're a git."

Fudge, unable to search for his quarry, left in high dudgeon.

Dumbledore smiled on Krait.

"A novel approach to dealing with dementors…..one you may wish to continue to bear in mind."

"What's the usual way of killing them, sir?" asked Krait.

"There wasn't one" said Dumbledore dryly.

-/-

Krait's essay for Dumbledore contained an explanation of all the ways in which she could have described Percy Weasley without stooping to crudity. Dumbledore laughed and laughed, then showed it to Madam McGonagall in the staffroom, who, as Severus reported to Krait, dryly suggested hiring it out at two sickles a time to raise money for another scholarship.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: **A Riddle Solved

Krait was unnerved when the globe connected to her father flashed; and Voldemort demanded peremptorily to speak to her.

"Father? How may I help?" she asked. "Why are you looking pissed with me?" for Voldemort was plainly not happy.

"I am told that you destroyed four dementors" he said coldly.

"Not alone….I did one and shared a second. They were coming for me" she said. "And besides, the more we knock off, the easier it will be to kill the rest to rescue your loyal followers in Azkaban, won't it?"

He stared into her eyes and Krait dwelt on how awful the feelings raised by the dementors were and how she wanted them dead.

He grunted.

"You could not know, I suppose, that the dementors are my natural allies….I purpose to subvert them and use them to AID the escape of the Lestranges and the others" he said. "There will be a mass break out, this I have decided!"

"Well, how was I supposed to divine your plans if you have not told me, father?" asked Krait, patiently. "I admit it was fear drove me more than logic, but it did occur to me while I was working on it that I might have come up with something useful to you….I confess to being disappointed at not being able to show you something useful."

"Did you invent the spell yourself? I assumed Potter…."

Krait snorted.

"Potter has a lot of raw power, most of which he has no idea how to use….but if you want imagination, baby, you need little me. Yes, it was my spell….spur of the moment but I did rather like it." She said. "How did you know? Is there one of yours in Fudge's office?"

He laughed.

"No…not that close to him. I have my sources to watch everywhere. I like to know how my daughter is progressing….apparently it is well. It was well done to threaten Fudge with Lucius….be sure never to lose your temper and name your true heritage as a threat….not yet, anyway!" he laughed at his own feeble sally. Krait grinned.

"It warms me to think about….but I will not be foolish. Trust me." she said.

-/-

It was an annoyance to start to get dressed and feel her clothes pull tight, uncomfortably tight when Krait rose the next morning. Her shoes pinched too.

"Well I've not got suddenly fat overnight" she muttered to herself "nor have my feet grown. It's a practical joke. _Restoratum_" she added out loud flicking her wand at her clothes. They promptly felt more comfortable. Krait grinned. "Nice practical joke, whoever" she said loudly for the benefit of the other Slytherin girls in her dormitory "But no banana."

Had such a level of hazing been all, Krait would have ignored it and appreciated the subtlety of the magic involved.

It was the frankly obscene comments about her inside toilet doors that shocked her to the core.

"Someone really hates me, Severus" she whispered to her beloved when she told him about it.

"I will see whoever it is expelled" he said, grimly, stroking her silky hair.

"I don't see why!" Krait was frustrated. "If it is Abigail Greengrasse – who has shown a sudden antipathy towards me – I can't see her motives. I'll ask Myrtle to keep an eye out and tell me what's going on. I want words with whoever is doing this before I go official and complain to you as my housemaster."

"Sure you don't want me to frighten it out of her?" he asked.

Krait shook her head.

"I want to dig this out for myself" she said firmly. "I love you so much – it would be easy to just lean on you and let you look after me. But it's not good for either of us."

He nodded.

"As you wish, my dear."

-/-

Myrtle was able to confirm Krait's suspicions; and Krait went in search of the girl's little sister. Emmeline Greengrasse viewed the older girl with some trepidation.

"What is it, Malfoy?" she asked.

"What's up with your sister that she's running so nasty a hate campaign against me?" Krait asked bluntly. "We scarcely spoke before this term, now she's got some kind of a knife into me and I don't know why. I'd rather not do anything official if I can sort it out myself, if there's been some kind of misunderstanding."

Emmeline regarded her thoughtfully.

"'Tisn't you" she said succinctly. "She's been weird since she got a new boyfriend in the holiday."

"Oh?" Krait frowned, puzzled.

Emmeline shrugged.

"She doesn't know I know, but I followed her…he's called Tom and he's quite grown up and I think he's creepy and smarmy and – and playing a part! And she'll do anything for him, I bet, and maybe she thinks anyone prettier than you might be a threat, or – or something. But she used to be okay, you know!"

"I see" said Krait, softly. "I'm going to have to have it out with her, you know; and I don't know how that's going to go. But I'll try to break the compulsion he has on her."

Emmeline stared uncomprehending as Krait swept off.

-/-

With Myrtle's help Krait came upon Abigail as she was scrawling a foul imputation in one of the girls' toilets.

"Proof enough in addition to my suspicions" drawled Krait. "So, why does my father set you to this?"

Abigail stared, white faced and speechless.

"I don't know what you mean" she said.

"Your boyfriend" said Krait. "Tom Marvolo Riddle. Otherwise known as Lord Voldemort. Wearing a fair form to seduce and control you. Look like this, hmmm?"

She laid an illusion of Tom Riddle's once fair face on the door. A glance at Abigail's face confirmed it; the combined adoration and sick revulsion.

"That's how he used to look of course" said Krait conversationally. "He looks like this now"

Casually she changed the illusion to her father's true visage. There were enough vestiges of the handsome Tom to indicate the truth of the picture.

"NOOO!" Abigail screamed, and launched herself on Krait.

They rolled around on the ground, Abigail scratching, biting, pulling hair and trying to hurt; Krait restraining her absently as she forced the girl's eyes to focus on hers and plunged her mind within, seeking the compulsion, seeking the spell binding that had aided the seduction – knowing that her vile father would not leave such things to force of personality. Deliberately, carefully she unwound the spell, making sure that Abigail saw all that she was doing; and eventually the girl collapsed in a sobbing heap. Krait ran her finger down the several scratches on her face muttering "_episkayo"_ to herself to mend them and sat down on the floor beside Abigail.

"He'll kill me" the girl whimpered.

"If he finds out? Probably" said Krait.

"He'll find out when you get me expelled" said Abigail in a sick little voice.

"Why were you doing it?" Krait asked.

"To test your temper….he said he could only judge you if he knew what you were like angry. And…and to see who you ran to about it." She added.

"Ahhh." Said Krait in satisfaction. The sigh was sibilant, like the hiss of a snake, and Abigail cowered back.

"Don't be idiotic" said Krait irritably. "So, how do you feel about helping the dark lord out?"

Abigail shuddered.

"I wish I'd never set eyes on him!" she asseverated vehemently. Then she quailed. "But…oh, you're his daughter! His ally! Please don't kill me!"

Krait frowned and the girl started sobbing again.

"Look here, you silly little girl, I'm trying to think of a way out of this mess and I can't think straight with you yowling like that, pull yourself together!" said Krait crossly. She sighed and put an arm around Abigail. "I'm not going to hurt you" she said.

"I would if I were you" interposed Myrtle, popping out of a sink.

"He never turned his attentions on to you….you can't know how insidious he is" said Krait. "He chose to kill you instead, and at least that left your soul intact, Myrtle dear….he's turned Abigail inside out. I have an idea!"

"What?" choked Abigail.

"Professor Snape can brew up some potion like the potion of Living Death and make you seem catatonic…I'll claim to His Fishyness that I've used the cruciatus curse to torture you into insensibility and insanity. When it's all over we can revive you."

Abigail shuddered at the mention of the cruciatus curse; and Krait gave her a hug. Pictures of her father's methods of control over the young girl had been present when she undid the compulsion, and it made her want to vomit.

-/-

Severus listened to Krait's explanation with compressed lips and Abigail Greengrasse shook in terror before her stern housemaster. His heavy lidded eyes bored into the girl, checking, testing, seeking every memory to be sure Krait had rid her of all desire to serve Voldemort.

"One day someone will teach you about love and romance as it should be experienced" he said, unwontedly gently. "What you have experienced with Riddle is a travesty, my child, and we will do all we can to protect you from him. We must act quickly, for he had established a link to you and lest he tries to contact you. A potion would be best but to research one so precise would take time….I believe I can place you into a catatonic-like trance with a codeword to waken you…'Voldemort is dead' seems good, for even if we two die, you will then be like to hear somebody say it. Take her to the Forbidden Forest, Krait, and I'll arrange somebody to find her unconscious body. Naturally I shall apprise Professor Dumbledore of what is really happening."

Krait took a deep breath as later she went to use the communications globe to speak to her father. Emmeline had been given some explanation; and was invited to join the Muggle Studies Hobbies Group to learn more about defences against the dark lord. She had been concerned for her sister; but relieved that the creepy influence of that boyfriend had been removed!

Krait cleared her mind and brought up the anger at her father's actions to test her. when he spoke

"Yes, my daughter?" in those hateful, silky tones she was ready.

"I caught your spy and her nasty little tricks are at an end" she said icily.

"Indeed? Did you kill her?" he was interested.

Krait shrugged.

"No…it would have caused an investigation. I ….questioned her quite thoroughly though, and she seems to have gone catatonic. I dumped her in the Forbidden Forest. When she's found they'll think it was one of the beasts there. I was displeased at your mistrust" she said accusingly.

He laughed.

"Well. You can certainly keep your wits about you even in anger….good. she was nothing to me, I care not if she lives or dies – though I am chagrined that you caught her and found her out so quickly and readily."

Krait shrugged again.

"I inherited your brains" she said laconically

"Evidently. Did it occur that I might have regretted her loss?"

Krait regarded him steadily, with a snake like stare.

"Briefly. But I am your daughter – with your heritance. And I am also remarkably talented. I do not think seriously that you would set any other woman up above me, nor wish to lay with a woman who was not totally replaceable. The way I understand it, only Bellatrix Black Lestrange has any claim upon you at all; if even she does truly."

The horrible laugh came again.

"You are right, my cold-blooded daughter. I am well pleased with your ruthlessness and ability."

Krait left the communications cupboard feeling drained as she always did. At least she would be away from him for a few days, spending a long weekend with Draco at Malfoy Manor during the half term Holiday – at Lucius' request!

_Abigail was one of those characters who got pushy and insisted on being created. When I get those urges I usually let the characters just get on with it and do what they want. I'm lazy enough to let the characters write my story for me._


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: **Malfoys Just Crawling out of the Woodwork

Draco and Krait surveyed the portrait of Abraxus Malfoy in Lucius' study, whence Draco had taken his cousin with some trepidation.

"And which cousin is that? Whey faced girl" said the picture, snippily. He was as blonde as any Malfoy, handsome in a haughty sort of way, with sideburns that Krait privately thought ridiculous.

"We were hoping you might be able to enlighten me…..grandfather" she said levelly, throwing back her head to peer down her own retrousse nose.

He peered.

"You're a child of one of my insurance policies are you?" he asked brusquely. "You're not so whey faced as I thought…"

Krait shrugged.

"How would I know the truth of mine origins?" she said. "My mother died birthing me. I have a letter referring to her father by name as Abraxus. Her name was Aurora. I think her mother was Augusta Day. Do you remember them?"

He snorted.

"A wise man keeps track of all his offspring…..stupid to die so young…Aurora was the youngest but one. There's a list in the dancing lady…you poke her nipples." He subsided into silence.

"Pictures can be huffy like that" said Draco. "I guess he means the bronze statue of the dancer…we could go look."

-/-

The dancing lady's nipples opened a compartment in her belly; and in it was a scrupulous list of all Abraxus Malfoy's children with notes.

"Excellent!" said Draco. "Now we can follow them all up….I know it would be easier to just give this to dad, but…."

Krait patted him on the arm.

"I know" she said.

Draco gave her a shaky grin.

"Severus will help" she assured him. "And David Fraser; that boy's pretty streetwise, I bet he can find out loads on the internet about their families from census returns and things."

"Internet?" Draco queried.

"A very useful muggle tool" Krait explained. "Information is stored and anyone with a computer and a telephone can….just assume he can find stuff out" she added as Draco's eyes glazed over.

Thus it was that Severus used magical means; and took David to an Internet Café in Glasgow to uncover what they could about Abraxus Malfoy's six children. Harry went along with David, having more understanding of computers than most wizards; and was impressed by the boy's aplomb with technology.`

The first two sons were hard to trace; the eldest seemed to have left the country.

"There are several outstanding paternity suits against him" reported David. "I THINK he is the father of Jonathon Malfoy, our own Snapelings' biological father."

"Nice to have that solved" grunted Krait. "The others?"

"After Horatio was Julius…he's a used car salesman in Birmingham" said David. "I think he's a bit dodgy"

"Aren't all used car salesmen?" queried Krait. "Go on"

"Casimir has two children – a nearly grown up daughter and a son, Abraxus, a year younger than me" said David quietly. "Vladimir is divorced and has three young children. And finally, Electra is at university – she seems to be known as Amber on her blogs"

Krait nodded.

"It's less outlandish in mugglespeak; though they've the same meaning, like Aurora and Dawn. No suggestion she's magically active?"

Krait shook his head.

"I'd kind of expect that she'd be investigating out of the way cults….but she's pretty down to earth, she's studying medicine. Mrs Casimir Malfoy, Wendy her name is, on the other hand owns a shop selling New Age stuff. I don't know if that's important."

"You're invaluable, David!" said Krait. "And as she has a son that age….I'll sneak a look at the book and see if he's down! Then Severus and I will pay them a visit! If everyone was contacted by Abraxus senior, it's possible the older ones know something about the wizarding world…though he may have chosen not to tell them all. If he did, why didn't they go to Hogwarts?"

"Maybe the muggle blood was too much dilution" suggested Krait "Or their muggle mothers scoffed…..Grandfather said they were his insurance, and what he wrote seems to suggest that if the Malfoy line got too inbred they'd be there to marry back into….I guess he was more obsessed with family survival than racial purity."

"Which goes to prove he was a canny old bird" approved Krait. "However daft he looks with those sideburns. Your father is an idiot….as well as being stupid enough to become Fishface's lickspittle. With all his hereditary eggs in one Krait sized basket…..the aristocracy have always done whatever it took to survive however personally distasteful they found it. I DO wonder if Lucius killed his own father."

"I'm not about to ask him" said Draco sulkily.

"Didn't even think of suggesting it….cheer up, brother mine, at least you've turned out okay"

"With a few good prods" interjected Harry, grinning at Draco and giving him a friendly punch on the arm.

Draco's face worked: he was still coming to terms with himself, and had little idea how friends behaved to each other. The blood tie helped, for he could feel that Harry meant no offence. He grinned back a little ruefully.

"When I found out that my dad could be a bully" said Harry softly "It was like I'd been kicked in the belly, even though I never really knew him….to admit to yourself that your dad's not perfect is hard. We're with you, Draco."

"Thanks" Draco nodded gratefully. "And thanks for helping me track down my er, muggle relatives."

Krait smiled to herself.

Suspicions were eroding as she had hoped.

-/-

The honey blond, pleasant faced woman who opened the door in the comfortable suburban semi raised an eyebrow when she saw the slim, pale form of Krait on the doorstep backed by a grim faced man in black.

"One of my husband's missing relatives I presume" she said calmly. "Come in, I'll put the kettle on."

The grim faced man's face relaxed and he laughed abruptly.

"THAT is what I call calm and panache" said Severus approvingly.

Wendy Malfoy grinned.

"I don't do excitable" she said. "I'm far too phlegmatic."

Krait surveyed her – aunt by marriage, she supposed – and liked what she saw. Wendy wore a long dress but it was neither ridiculously floaty nor adorned with scarves and beads nor the sort of vaguely mystical appurtenances that Krait associated with those involved in New Age stuff. The dress had long sleeves and seemed to be designed to protect a fair skinned person from too much sun – it was hot for early summer, especially in London – than as a statement. Her hair was short and bobbed and held ruthlessly away from her face by a pair of clips. Her hands showed signs of terracotta clay. Wendy noticed Krait noticing.

"I dabble in sculpture" she laughed. "Casimir is the artistic one – he carves wood and some stone. It all helps boost the old income, my pottery dragons seem very popular, and he can carve anything people want. Do sit down." She waved a hand at a bright, pretty kitchen with notes on the fridge held by small pottery dragon magnets missing the odd ear or tail. "Failures" she said waving to them. "But I get too sorry for them to throw them away….there are several big ones in the garden. Sugar?"

Severus and Krait sipped tea.

"Tell me Madam Malfoy" said Severus "How much do you know about your husband's father?"

Wendy regarded him thoughtfully.

"A question to be pondered before answering" she said gravely. "If you are not from the same….background….as he, any straight answer could have me dragged off to the funny farm….yet your mode of address to me, and your style of clothing suggest you are from the same world, as you might say. My husband's father was a wizard."

"Ah!" said Severus in satisfaction. "That means I don't have to go through so much explanation. Good. Krait here is your husband's niece. Her mother died birthing her so her….exposure to the wizarding world was….truncated."

"That's Severus-speak for the whole thing went SNAFU" supplied Krait. Wendy smiled at her gravely.

"I think I'd better get Casimir" she said.

"I'm already here" said a voice from the doorway. "One of those feelings….."

"Just picture a jolly Lucius…..almost scary" murmured Krait.

"Pardon?" Casimir was confused.

"You bear a striking physical resemblance to your half brother the wizard Lucius Malfoy" it was Severus' turn to translate. "Tell me, why did you not attend Hogwarts?"

Casimir shrugged and sighed.

"My mother was very much opposed to the idea….partly at the whole concept, partly because she feared I'd make enemies from the legitimate side of the family. She and her sister blocked Vladimir and me from going. Vladimir is my aunt's child, we're cousins as well as brothers" he explained.

"You're in contact with Vladimir? That's fantastic!" said Krait. "All my life I've had no relatives and suddenly I've got three uncles in as many months!"

Casimir laughed.

"I don't see him that often….he's fighting over custody rights at the moment, his ex wants to pick up the kids and swan off with them whenever she feels it would enhance her image to have them looking cute. Yes, Wendy, I know that's bitchy, but I loathe the woman."

Wendy shrugged.

"She's not my favourite person….stop hedging, Cas, and ask the gentleman what's really on your mind."

Casimir nodded and gulped.

"My chance for Hogwarts went by….and my daughter pretends very hard that she doesn't hear us discuss magic….but my son….is there a chance for him to go to a school for Wizards?"

"Most certainly" said Severus promptly. "His name appears in the book of magically active people to be contacted – Professor Dumbledore would have contacted you later on formally. It's just because Krait is so keen to track down her relatives that we were visiting. It is a shame about your daughter. Morgan is a year or so older than Krait, I believe….it would have been nice for her to have had a convivial girl cousin. She gets on well enough with her cousin Draco – the legitimate arm of the family – and he would have liked to have come too had he been able to get time off from his holidays for more than a brief trip to research your existence. He too will be sorry about your daughter, I'm sure."

Wendy sighed.

"Morgan has always been very literal…we seemed to lose touch with her after Abrax was born, though God knows I tried not to let her feel left out. She's studying as a nurse."

"Runs in the family" said Severus dryly.

"It does?" asked Casimir.

"You've a sister training in medicine…..and Krait fixes people who are unhappy in innovative ways. When she's not damaging them" he smiled at Krait.

Krait stuck her tongue out.

-/-

The door crashed and a small boy as blonde as Draco but infinitely more dishevelled burst in.

"Mum, can I take sandwiches and go watch the skateboarding in the park?" he demanded. "Oh, sorry, hello!" he said to Severus and Krait.

"Meet your cousin Krait and…."

"Professor Severus Snape" supplied Snape. "Krait's guardian."

Wendy gave him a steady look and a dull flush crept up his sallow face. Krait scowled at Wendy.

Abrax Malfoy didn't notice.

"Are you a wizard, sir?" he demanded in awed tones.

"I am" said Severus. "Your cousin is a witch."

"Cuh! Show me? please?" Skateboarding took second place.

Krait grinned and shifted gently into the great ivory snake. Her forked tongue tasted the air in front of her cousin's face; than she resumed her own form.

"Wow! Cool!" said Abrax, approvingly. "Can I learn to do that?"

"You MAY" said Severus "Whether you CAN or not remains to be seen. Your cousin has a remarkable ability at transfiguration – shape shifting. MY specialities lie in potion making and protection spells. We will see where your talents lie when you start Hogwarts in September. Perhaps you will speak to your brother, Mr Malfoy, and find out whether he is interested in further contact with this side of the family too. We must be getting back, your great nieces, whom I have adopted, will be getting jumpy….they have had an unfortunate start in life. We would not bring them in case you were…..unwilling to know us. As the opposite seems true, I look forward to future, er, family meetings."

He took Krait by the hand, bowed stiffly; and they apparated.

"Nothing like making an exit" murmured Krait in Hogsmeade.

-/-

"That" said Wendy, reflectively "Is a man so much in love and so unsure of himself he could be destroyed if she ever rejected him"

Casimir looked surprised.

"He seemed to brim with self confidence to me" he said. "I wasn't sure if I liked him…he's rather snide."

Wendy sniffed.

"Armour" she said.

"They're awesome!" was Abrax's contribution.

-/-

Back at Hogwarts, end of year exams were approaching fast, earlier than usual to accommodate the Triwizard competition. Krait had elected to enter some O.W.L.s as she had caught up very quickly, relying on those her talents could see her through practicals or those closely allied to skills she already had. Arithmancy came easily to her, having already been very good at Mathematics and recognising that certain principles could readily be applied to both; transfiguration was so very much a part of her nature that she felt no trepidation in attempting that; and Severus had so ruthlessly driven her forward in Defence against the Dark arts for her own protection that she knew she surpassed many fifth years in that knowledge. Her knowledge of Potions came partly from what she had assimilated in the Joining she and Severus had undertaken; but her knowledge of Chemistry too stood her in good stead, and Severus deemed her ready, which (as he rather pithily said) was more than he could say for many of her seniors. She elected to try Muggle Studies as well; for though questions were set from the point of view of wizards studying a foreign culture Krait felt confident enough to tackle the questions as she would explain things to a classmate, even though she had not taken the course.

"It doesn't matter how well you do anyway" said Severus "For you can always retake next year, and coming so late no-one will think any the worse of you."

Krait shrugged.

"I'd be disappointed not to do well" she said "But it would be nice if I can get some out of the way so as not to be distracted when we face all those REAL tests of defending against darkness….Speaking of which, are we going to tell my father that I suspect I may be pregnant?"

Severus blinked.

"Why lie? It shortens the time we can protect Harry…..Krait, do you mean…..?" he tailed off.

She nodded.

"Might be wrong….but I'm not usually late, not this late…I've been feeling queasy in the mornings…it's another reason I'd like some O.W.L.s under my belt so to speak."

"My dear!" Severus sounded quite choked. "Did you want….I have potions that can…I mean if you didn't want…."

She flung herself into his arms.

"Don't you want our baby?" she demanded. "I though…I thought you'd be happy…."

He kissed her tenderly and lingeringly.

"Of course I do" he said roughly. "I – I just don't want you to feel forced into motherhood before you've finished your schooling, before you've finished growing up…."

She clung to him.

"I did all my growing up long ago, love" she said. "I want your baby. If I don't finish school, so be it. It doesn't mean I need stop learning. And…whilst it may not be the best time to bring a child into the world, we have to hope that we will live to see our baby grow up…..in freedom. And if we die fighting for that freedom, assuming I survive to birthing, there are plenty of others who will raise our child, our bloodkin….the Weasleys… Professor Dumbledore….Casimir and Wendy, in all likelihood and for them with the same blood oath that protects Harry at the Dursleys…."

"You know about that?" he was surprised. "I didn't think we had mentioned that side of blood magic."

She nodded.

"Harry mentioned that Dumbledore had made some off the cuff remark….so I went and looked things up in your books, about blood relatives, oaths and the protection of sacrifice. An irony that the only place he's safe from Fishface is the place he's most miserable because of his aunt's tie of blood to his mother."

"Indeed" said Severus softly. "Well, we shall rejoice in secret about our good news I think….perhaps I should speak to your father and urge him to let me, er, school you so that you can get further with Harry – to catch him after the euphoria of winning or disappointment of losing the Triwizard…. Then we can hedge to persuade him that Harry cannot be killed until after the child is born to make sure it is healthy - and Harry's!"

"You are wise, love….dearest, Abigail was asking questions about Jade and Lydia, he knows about them….tell him you found further Malfoys in the orphanage and are raising them, because you want some insurance against Lucius, you're not sure what yet, but that you'll train them to be loyal….volunteering information will win his trust. Tell him you wanted to wait until you were sure they displayed magical capabilities."

"Sensible….we will do that. I will speak to him now before I lose my nerve…..go and read through chapters twelve and thirteen in 'Magical Draughts and Potions' again to make sure you've assimilated it all. You might as well do as well as you can….and cross reference with my copy of 'Advanced Potion making'. It has my own notes in."

She smiled at him and went to take herself out of earshot, recognising the hint that he wished to do this unpleasant task alone!


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: **The End of the Beginning

Later Severus told Krait that the talk with the Dark Lord had gone according to plan.

"He enjoyed taunting me about my impatience…..half suggested he should watch your 'education'" he shuddered. "I managed to head him off….he'll want to ask you about it later I dare say."

Krait nodded.

"I'll be a bit bemused, embarrassed, intimate that you have slightly, uh, exotic entertainments, that you emphasise the teacher-pupil relationship….BDSM and so on."

"What?" Severus blinked. She blushed.

"Bondage, domination, sado-masochism….that ought to please his grubby little soul. I'll also tell him that I have you now exactly where I want you, that you might think you're controlling me but I control you through that…..it's convoluted enough to keep the little creep happy. And I'll be so eager to educate Harry… it'll be all good. What did he say about the girls?"

"He laughed…he likes his Deatheaters to play games and have rivalries providing they don't interfere with his plans….he'll not interfere."

"Good…I can settle to work better for knowing it's going well." She said.

The youngsters were equally hard working in preparing for end of year exams; which led to young David Fraser's involvement in a piece of unpleasantness concerning a Ravenclaw girl his own age called Grace Corbin. Grace did not make the sort of showing generally expected of academic Ravenclaws, and David knew she avoided her older cousin who made unkind comments to her about being a Squib. When the child wrote furiously throughout their Potions exam and then passed out as soon as they were outside, David dragged her back in to Professor Snape – David's hero and mentor – to find out what was wrong, and an ugly tale emerged.

It appeared from Grace's broken and sobbing story that she had been pressed by her cousin Peverel Corbin and his Slytherin friend Orme Squamor to take a potion of their own that they were developing to sharpen the memory in a different way to existing memory potions.

"Which" said Severus, grimly "Since either one of them is barely competent at best is rather a damned cheek let alone risky to this child. Mr Fraser, perhaps you will find the miscreants and deliver them to me as soon as I have this girl in the tender care of Madame Pomfrey."

David had been only too happy to do Professor Snape's bidding; and though firmly dismissed from the Potion Master's office as the two older lads stood sulkily before him, David grinned to himself to hear Snape's opening comments.

"You despicable cowardly creatures, that dare not test your own unwholesome concatenation, you are inept, inutile, incompetent and IN TROUBLE!"

David closed the door with the beginnings of satisfaction.

The boys concerned left the same day, regardless of protest; they were not to be allowed to take their O.W.L.s, but were expelled forthwith.

"And good riddance too" said David to Grace in the school hospital. Grace cried.

"I expect my parents will blame me, and so will his parents" she said.

"Your parents are rotters" said David. He had heard much from Grace about how her parents expected her to do better and rode her unmercifully. Privately he thought that worry caused as much of her lack of performance as any lack of talent and said as much to Professor Snape in the Muggle Studies meeting next day.

"I'll do what I can" Severus promised.

-/-

What Severus did was to visit Grace's parents. Her father taught in a small select finishing school for girls over school age who wanted to research beyond N.E.W.T level; he had married his star pupil, and they were more concerned, Severus thought, with researching their own pet spells than with parenting. He put his most sarcastic manner on and managed to goad the pair into disowning Grace as useless; and signing over her care to him!

Grace was in two minds when Professor Snape informed her that her parents had disowned her and he was now her guardian. To be rejected was a shock – but the relief made her both glad and guilty. And Snape had been kind enough to her through the terrible nightmares where she could not forget anything, and had wanted to see to her wellbeing enough to force her parents to give her up to him! She thanked him and silently hoped that it would be all right! At least the incident had won her friendship with David Fraser who was really nice – and Snape was his Guardian, and he trusted the Potions master so…..Grace ran out of thoughts and fell asleep, exhausted from several days of not being able to stop the rush of thoughts and memories through her mind.

-/-/-/-

David himself had begun to forge a reputation; he had friends ranging through every House, even the bad tempered Wido Mordaunt in Slytherin, whom David had discovered suffered from stress eczema and had arranged a cream from Severus; and when an older Ravenclaw boy had seen fit to tease Wido, David had growled, snarled and bitten his kneecaps – as he said to Krait, 'you had to have been there' – and got the lad quite convinced that he, David, was a werewolf. David did nothing to discourage that belief for it made older bullies think twice about tackling him or his friends! He dragged all his friends with him to the Muggle Studies Hobby Group; and training was beginning in earnest. It kept Harry Potter's mind off the Triwizard competition too, being involved in what was real training to deal with his enemy; and the lad was grateful to David for introducing new subjects that he really had to think about! David grumbled continuously that he could not show training films, even fiction, to give his students some idea.

"Those of us who are muggle born have some idea" said Hermione "Like, my parents always watch 'The great escape' for Christmas. Dad falls asleep in the middle and wakes up as it finishes saying what a great guy Steve McQueen is."

"Yeah, but that's not much help to the wizard born" said David.

"How about using Goblin-made clockwork to turn sixteen mil film?" suggested Hermione. "We could put a candle behind it with a lens…"

"Lux spell on a globe" interrupted Krait. "Brilliant! Severus and I will look into that over the holidays….I'm sure we can get films on sixteen mil, or I can ask my muggle uncle Casimir to get video put to that format. It'll be fine!" she whistled the theme tune of 'The Great Escape' absently to herself. David nodded, pleased. Krait grinned at him and winked. "If we can get 'The Longest Day' you can listen to the bagpipes and take them up…..the Lovat Scouts were formed by the Fraser clan, you know….Black Bear Frrrraser!"

David chuckled.

"If I were related, I might just take up bagpipes" he said seriously.

Hermione groaned.

"NOW look what you've done!" she accused Krait!

"Well bagpipes ARE defined as being a weapon of war" said Krait. "I should think it ought to scare off even a dementor if David plays at them."

"Thanks a bunch" said David.

-/-

Krait found very little difficulty with her O.W.L.s; the extra drilling in protection spells in the mornings and the question and answer sessions made Defence against the Dark Arts second nature. She wrote fluently about dark creatures – there was a question on dementors which was virtually a gift – and on curses and counter curses. In the practical her iron will, backed by a fitness that came from running saw her holding a shield against both required curses and she dealt easily with her boggart turning Sister Agatha's image into one of the comic crows from 'Dumbo'.

Transfiguration already WAS second nature; and the theory was – to Krait's mind – simple enough. Having read most of Severus' books in his school chambers she absently mentioned the principle of Assimilative Correlation by Association or Nomenclature when discussing cross species switches, which terminology was NEWT level. In the practical she changed her guinea pig into a guinea fowl, vanished dirt, switched the contents of two bottles and summoned a handkerchief absently embellishing it with lace and an embroidered Slytherin House shield. The lace was of intertwined serpents.

Potions was a challenging but enjoyable test, and she had set out to enjoy it rather than worry about results and consequently found it quite easy. The Draught of Peace left her quite relaxed and she happily quoted Golapott's first two laws for the written; that an antidote or counter to any potion needed an equal or greater efficacy to the original; and that any potion which increased in effect over time required an antidote whose efficacy increased exponentially to the time elapsed.

The Arithmancy exam was a stiff one involving differential calculus to work out the maxima and minima of wizards required to ritually open a portion of wizarding space; and would have been trickier had not certain values been given to the students, who had not studied more than the basics of differentiation as yet. There were questions on numerologically good times to undertake given events or rituals, simultaneous equations to cover the nodes where ley lines met and a question requiring the candidate to list the first ten terms of the Wenlock series, known to Krait from muggle mathematics as the Fibonacci series. She had been much impressed that Madam Wenlock had worked this out hundreds of years before her muggle counterpart. Krait worked hard, but still finished ahead of some of the fifth years.

"Which might" she confided in Hermione "Be because I'm good; or alternatively might be that I made some unholy mess of it and missed the point entirely."

"Unlikely" said Hermione. "I think I could have taken Arithmancy a year early if my parents had let me, and we're much on a par. Do you have the paper?"

The subsequent discussion – which drove the boys away in disgust – satisfied Krait that she had done quite well.

"Defence was a breeze" she giggled "Though I guess I might be marked down for blowing the examiner clean across the Hall. He asked me if I was the girl who laughed ministry property to death and I confessed that indeed 'twas I; he seemed fairly impressed so I guess I might score quite well."

"You ought to" said Hermione. "It was a brilliant spell to invent on the spur of the moment."

"You really are generous….mater necessitas inventionis est as they say."

"What does that mean?" Draco had wandered over.

"It means Draco Malfoy doesn't speak Latin…." She quipped. "Actually it means that necessity is the mother of invention. Those Dementors scared me so much, I wanted them destroyed. And we couldn't let them look for Padfoot. I get the impression a lot of people – Dumbledore amongst them – don't approve of the Ministry use of Dementors."

"Too right!" agreed Hermione.

-/-/-/-

The Triwizard third task came almost as an anticlimax to Krait, knowing what it had supposed to bode for Harry. Harry had enough points to go first into the maze, armed with knowledge from the riddle that he would face spiders; but it was the combined efforts of Harry and Cedric Diggory that overcame the challenge and they staggered out, Harry limping badly, each holding a handle of the cup.

"Hogwarts joint champions! A satisfactory outcome!" said Professor Dumbledore.

"If that had been a portkey and they'd both grabbed it together…." Krait whispered to Severus

"…..Diggory would have died in short order as being useless to the Dark Lord; and Harry might have followed him as a part of the creep's celebrations of a return to a body" finished Severus grimly. "Whether Harry would have survived because of the blood sacrifice of Lily I cannot begin to guess…..at least we averted that piece of mischief."

-/-/-/-

The end of the Triwizard competition was marked with a ball that doubled as a leavers' ball; many were happy to celebrate Hogwarts' triumph, and the other schools were determined not to show unsportsmanlike conduct . Krait celebrated in sheer relief that the stupid competition was over; and to mark her own happy thoughts of incipient motherhood.

Naturally it was David Fraser, though not participating in the ball, who uncovered the covert gambling and mediated between an angry French boy and the Hogwarts sixth former who was an extraordinarily good card player. The boy, Anthony Quitch, later confided in David, who in turn passed on what he had learned to the Muggle Studies Hobby Group.

"Tony's father works at Gringotts and he's pretty friendly with a Goblin called Grutch. It turns out" David explained "That Grutch met and married a muggle girl – and they have a daughter, a half-breed goblin. Tony reckons she's plenty clever, and thought she ought to go to Hogwarts, so he's funding her with his gambling winnings."

"A creditable goal if not necessarily the best way to go about it" conceded Severus.

"He's studied statistics…..and he's lucky too" said David seriously. "And I kind of promised I'd get to know this girl, Ellie her name is, and see her through the experience of Diagon Alley. And as your cousin's starting next term too, Krait, I could introduce them, couldn't I?"

"An excellent idea!" Krait agreed.

The Holidays were going to be quite as full as the last few terms, it seemed!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**No it's not finished yet. This is the first book; if you enjoyed, watch this space. If you didn't why are you still reading after 35 chapters?**

Sorry to anyone who had the name change glitch; I think I've fixed it. Again.

**Watch out for book 2 'Surfeit of Malfoys' coming soon to a galaxy near you. [hitchhiker's guide reference] [before Christmas because I had some of you making nice to me]**


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